The Angel of Adustum
by SpellMoon15819
Summary: After the loss of her grandmother, 11 year old Penny, a Hogwarts first year, goes to live with her Aunt Minerva and together they discover things about their family line that makes for a much more interesting second year at Hogwarts school of witch craft and wizardry. Please r&r like to know your thoughts
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone. This is my first HP fanfic. I've been a huge fan of the HP series and my absolute fave character has always been Minerva McGonagall and I was delighted to read a little of her backstory from JK Rowling. Since reading it I've been playing with an idea of a story for some time and I've not been able to shift it. So here it is – I don't own any of the characters except Penny (her involvement will become clearer later) and I don't own Hogwarts either. I hope you enjoy my story and would love to read any feedback you've got =)**

The beginning of November had erupted into life with much celebration and for the first time in decades there was a true sense of freedom in the air. There seemed to be new colour in the world, new energy and everyone in the wizarding community was taking advantage of this.

In the grounds of Hogwarts a tall, slim figure began to head out for an evening stroll, something she hadn't felt safe to do in a long time. Minerva walked along the banks of the Black Lake, enjoying the evening breeze as she felt that subtle nip of wintery cold; but she didn't care, for nothing was going to spoil her good mood.

Voldemort was gone, maybe not permanently, as some believed, but he was gone for now and that was something she could take great comfort in and the wonderful little boy who had, miraculously, stopped him was safe and now in the care of his aunt and uncle. At this thought her brow creased slightly; she still couldn't shift the uneasy feeling about those muggles.

She'd spent the whole of the previous day sat on Privet Drive outside number 4 observing the comings and goings of the street and the family Harry Potter was to live with. She was disgusted and concerned at what she saw, as, in her opinion, they were the worst sort of muggles imaginable and she wasn't entirely convinced that they were the best people to look after a little boy who was now one of the most famous wizards of all time. However, Dumbledore believed it was the best move for the child and, therefore, it was good enough for her.

She finally came to a halt at a large tree that had fallen across the pebbled beach and into the lake. She took a seat and began to look for the person who had asked to meet with her there, but, as yet, there was no sign.

In recent years she hadn't appreciated the true beauty of what had become their spot, their meeting place to discuss whatever they pleased away from prying eyes. She'd put a stop to their walks through Hogsmead as she didn't appreciate being the subject of gossip, whether it be students or the locals, especially after Elphinstone's first visit, when they'd gone to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop and he proposed to her. He'd caught her rather off guard at the time and she turned him down.

It was now, as she sat by the gently lapping water that she thought about her feelings for Elphinstone Urquhart, a man ten years her senior, a good friend and former colleague. Whilst she had turned down his proposal on that first occasion, it hadn't deterred him from continuing to pursue her, if anything it just made him more determined.

She'd known for a long time before returning to Hogwarts that Elphinstone had feelings for her, but at the time her heart belonged to another, a love that she had struggled with on a daily basis for the best part of twenty years. His name had been Dougal McGregor, a muggle farmer in Caithness whom she had fallen madly in love with in her youth, but to be with him would have meant giving up her wand and what she believed to be her freedom; it was a chain she had been determined not to wear.

She did have feelings for Elphinstone, but they had never been strong enough to combat those she had for Dougal, except things had changed in recent years when she had heard of his death. His death had awoken something inside her, as if her ability to love had been asleep all those years. However, the rest of her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Elphinstone himself, a large grin playing on his aging face.

He was quite a tall man with short peppered hair and neat glasses placed on his nose. He was always dressed smartly, a gold watch chain dangling from him waistcoat pocket and a cloak of deepest green wrapped round his shoulders.

They greeted each other fondly and Minerva saw a look flash in his eyes that she'd seen many times before; it's the same one her wore the other dozen times he had proposed to her and she could feel a soft smile play on her own lips.

'Have you not bored of your pursuit yet Elphie?' She said with an arched brow.

'I don't know what you mean Minerva!' He exclaimed at one, feigning indignity. 'Can't a man ask an old friend for a walk without his intentions being questioned?'

Minerva couldn't help smile at his words and looked at him expectantly.

'You know it's lovely to see you Elphie, but I'll have less of the old if you don't mind.' She playfully chastised.

He gave her a wink before slowly walking away from her, waiting briefly for her to join him. She took hold of his arm as they began to walk around the lake.

'It's such a beautiful evening.' He said finally after several minutes of silence.

'I was thinking the same before you arrived. It feels…different now doesn't it?'

'Yes it does. Do you think he's really gone?'

'Albus thinks not. He believes he's merely injured or powerless and I have to say I'm rather inclined to believe him. However, I'm going to enjoy his absence whilst I can.' Minerva replied, unaware that her companion wasn't really listening to her.

'Hmmm.' He said.

'I dare say it'll be some time before things truly settle though; whilst I can appreciate the celebrations, we've still got the losses to consider. More than half the students in that school have lost someone or know someone who has.' She continued. 'Take little Elouise Taylor, she's only eleven and she lost both her parents and her grandfather. Teddy Mason…are you even listening to me Elphinstone?' She said sternly, at last realising she didn't have his full attention.

He finally turned to face her, the glow from the setting sun creating a soft shadow on his features.

'Nearly thirty years I've been in love with you Minerva and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. I've never understood why you won't marry me.' He explained seriously, there was no longer a playful glint in his eyes. 'I've retired from the ministry, it's time some new blood took over, and it got me thinking about where I want to spend the rest of my life. This is what I want, up here away from it all, the peace, the quiet and the solitude; I want to be close to you Minerva, I want to be with you and this time I won't take no for an answer.'

She looked at him and felt a deep love and affection for the man standing in front of her. One of the truths about why she'd never said yes to him was because she was afraid, something she'd never admit to anyone. She had been afraid to allow herself to love anyone after Dougal as she didn't want to deal with that pain again. But now, stood there in front of the one man who would have truly pursued her to the end of the earth and back, the man she'd said no to so many times before, she found all of those fears drift away; after all, if a one year old little boy could defeat the darkest wizard of all times because of love, then surely she could allow it to replace her fears?

'Alright.' She said softly.

'…what?' He said with shock, certain he'd missed her.

'Yes I will marry you.'

'Oh, right…well…um…' He stammered, flummoxed as to what to say next.

Minerva took the decision out of his hands, grabbing his arm once more and continuing their walk back up to the castle where they shared a nightcap and talked until the small hours of the morning.

A few weeks later they had a very small wedding ceremony, neither of them had been keen on anything grand at their ages, they just wanted a few witnesses of close friends and family. After the wedding they had agreed to buy a cottage in Hogsmead so that Elphinstone could enjoy his retirement in peace and so Minerva could continue teaching.

Elphinstone and managed to change her opinion on many things, but one of the things he could never change was her surname. Much to the disapproval of many she had decided to keep her surname McGonagall, a decision Elphinstone had accepted and respected; he was just grateful to finally have the hand of the woman he truly loved.


	2. Chapter 2

Several years after her marriage had ended with the death of her beloved husband; Minerva now sat in her study back within the castle walls, a pile of marking to be done in front of her.

She gave a loud sigh as she stole a glance out of the window, in front of which she had her desk placed so she could enjoy the last of the evening's rays of sun. She looked out across the grounds towards the greenhouses, where she saw Professor Sprout watering her plants and tending to the school vegetable patch.

She tried to bring her attention back to the homework in front of her from her first year students, but the name on the first piece of parchment brought her mind back the that fateful night. She still remembered the events from seven years ago as if it had happened yesterday.

She remembered how she'd sat in the sitting room of her cottage, in great shock at how quickly events had turned. They'd barely been married for three years, three very happy years and then it was all over, just like that. He'd been taken away from her so cruelly, so suddenly and she'd barely had the chance to say goodbye.

If only she hadn't decided to work late that night he wouldn't have felt the need to come up to the school; he wouldn't have decided to take the short-cut through the herbology gardens and he wouldn't have been bitten by the venomous tentacula.

She remembered the sound of knocking on her study door and somehow, deep inside, she had known that something had happened. Sure enough, the person standing on the other side was not her husband, but was none other than Albus Dumbledore.

'Minerva, I must ask that you accompany me at once. There's no time to explain, but it is important that you come with me.' He'd said gravely. There was no twinkle in his eye as there normally was, only pain and sorrow.

She had done as he'd asked and rushed with him to the hospital wing where Poppy Pomfry was still desperately trying to administer the antidote to Minerva's dying husband. Minerva arrived just in time to see him and to hear him weakly tell her he loved her, but before she could reply he had passed away.

The events after that had become somewhat of a blur to Minerva. Albus had accompanied her back to her cottage in Hogsmead where her sister was already sat waiting for her, her five year old granddaughter, Minerva's great niece, in tow. Albus had sent for them as soon as he'd been advised of the situation and they had arrived as soon as Penelope had received the news.

The four of them had sat in her sitting room for hours, the three adults watching the little girl playing on the rug in front of the fire, tenderly oblivious to the pain and anguish going on around her. At one point Albus had even got on his hands and knees to play with little Penny whilst her grandmother and great aunt talked.

Penelope consoled her older sister for much of the night and certainly long after Albus had retired back to the school. Penny had fallen asleep on the sofa, wrapped in her great aunt's cloak, gently sucking her thumb and hugging her favourite teddy, one that had belonged to her mother.

After what felt like hours of silence it was Minerva who had spoken first.

'She's such a quiet child.' She'd said, her voice hoarse from her tears and from lack of speech.

'Yes she is.' Penelope agreed with a tired smile.

'You're very lucky you know, to still have her in your life.' Minerva replied, a slightly pained expression on her face.

'We are both lucky to have her in our lives. She thinks a great deal of you Minerva and without Jenny here to raise her, we both will be relying on your help and guidance.'

They had been words that had stuck with her for all these years and ones that she'd tried to take comfort in, but there were still days when she felt sure her grief would consume her. She missed Elphinstone greatly; she missed their long conversations, their walks around the lake together and most of all his love and company. In private she still mourned his loss; however, as soon as she left the sanctuary of her private living quarters and study, the ridged mask of sternness would replace her pain, allowing no one to see the truth.

She forced herself to concentrate on the parchment in front of her once more, looking down at Penny's handwriting and noting how much like her grandmother's it was. It was small and very neatly joined, looping and flicking at exactly the right points. Minerva noted how meticulous each sentence was written and how much time Penny had clearly spent on her work.

All in all Penny was proving herself a very accomplished witch, powerful and was certainly one of the best students in her year. As head of Penny's house Minerva was getting nothing but good reports from all of her, Penny's, teachers, with almost top marks in each class. She was showing a particular aptitude for transfiguration, potions and defence against the dark arts.

Not that Minerva had expected anything less; after all, Penny's grandmother had taught her these things since she was a young child. Although wizarding law stated it was not permitted for those under the age of eleven to be taught magic or for those under seventeen to use it outside of school, Penelope hadn't wanted her granddaughter to be left vulnerable to the evils that the wizarding world held, as past experience had taught her that evil didn't care for age or ability to get what they wanted.

Whilst Minerva had not necessarily agreed with her younger sister, she had understood why she had felt it necessary to teach Penny things way beyond her years; she could only imagine what it must be like to lose a child, surmising that the pain and anguish must be close to unbearable.

Minerva allowed her mind to wander once more before she had to admit defeat. She knew she wasn't going to be able to concentrate. She gave another deep sigh and began to tidy the scrolls on her desk when she heard a gentle tapping on her door.

She walked across the room with large strides, watched closely and silently by the photographs of her family on her wall. She wrenched open the door to find her great niece standing on the other side, tears running down her cheeks. Minerva ushered her kindly into her study and Penny instinctively took one of the chairs by the lit fire, which had sprang into life as the evening became cooler.

Minerva grabbed two glasses from a cabinet and poured a pumpkin juice for Penny and a large firewhiskey for herself. This had become a routine of theirs over the course of the school year, to spend time together in private, a particularly favourite pass time of Penny's.

Before Penny had started at Hogwarts both she and her Aunt Minerva had agreed to keep their relationship a secret, so that no student, or teacher, could accuse Minerva of favouritism or nepotism; not that Minerva ever would have favourite her great niece in any way. Whilst she may love her great niece and be very fond of her, she would never hesitate to punish her for any wrong doing or offer her appropriate praise for doing well.

She handed Penny her glass of juice and took the seat opposite her, sipping her drink whilst looking at the young girl, waiting for her to speak. Finally, after many minutes of silence, Penny began to explain what was troubling her.

'Sally-Ann Barton and her friends were teasing me because I was in the library studying. They said I was a swat, a teacher's pet, a geek! I tried to ignore them; I tried not to use my powers against them, just like you and Grams asked me not to, but when I left the library they followed me out into the corridor and knocked my books to the floor and ripped by bag.

'When I bent down to pick my stuff up they'd bewitched my books to move away every time I made to grab them. They kept laughing at me, until I got so angry that I sent them flying when I lifted my hand.' She explained, sounding a little calmer than she had done when she'd first entered the room, but still very upset.

'I didn't look back to see if they were OK. I just picked up my things and ran. Why do these things keep happening to me Auntie Minerva? Why is it that I can make some things happen without the use of a wand, when no other student can?'

At first Minerva wasn't sure what was upsetting her great niece most, being constantly picked on by Sally-Ann Barton, a particularly nasty Slytherin first year, or the fact that, ever since birth, she seemed to possess certain powers that others could only dream of, one being, as she already mentioned, the ability to move things with a stroke of her hand.

Minerva had to admit that, at first, she and Penelope had believed Penny's powers to be developing like any other wizarding child, that she did things by accident when she was angry or scared, or feeling another particularly strong emotion. However, as Penny got older they began to notice that she was becoming better at controlling her powers and that they were starting to increase.

Recently it had appeared that she had "frozen" a whole class whilst in transfiguration. Minerva had been teaching them to transfigure mice into snuffboxes and had set them all the task of doing so. Penny had been sat in the middle of the class next to her friend Nymphadora Tonks, Tonks to her friends, from Hufflepuff. They had been doing reasonably well until Tonks' mouse tried to make a run for it and Penny had made a grab for it, just as it tried to make a jump off the table.

Before Penny or Minerva could understand what was going on, the whole class had stopped; suspended in mid-motion, the mouse in mid-air as it hung between the table and the floor. The only two people not to be affected by this, but equally perplexed, were Penny and Minerva.

A few minutes later the room had become unfrozen and the class continued with their activities, none the wiser for their experience, but Penny had become somewhat subdued after this. From that moment on Minerva had kept an even closer eye on her great niece.

'I don't know Penny.' She replied honestly. 'But I can assure you that your grandmother and I are looking into it. We've even enlisted Professor Dumbledore's assistance to…'

'You told Dumbledore?!' Penny exclaimed in horror.

'Yes I did!' Minerva replied sternly, 'And that's Professor Dumbledore.' She added as she looked over the rim of her glasses.

'I'm sorry, it's just…well I don't want everyone to know I'm some sort of…of…well, freak!' Penny explained as a fresh set of tears rolled down her face.

Taking a kinder approach Minerva took a comforting hold of Penny's hand, her features even softer than before.

'Professor Dumbledore does not think you're a freak and neither does your grandmother or myself. You're nothing of a sort; it's just something that we've not come across before. But Professor Dumbledore knows our family history, who's to know that your powers aren't linked to the bloodline you come from? Have you ever stopped to think of that?' She said.

Penny looked up at her with red, watery eyes and shook her head slowly. Her cheeks were tear stained and she felt foolish for allowing herself to get into such a state. Normally she had no problem holding her emotions together, but recently she felt so uncertain about what was going on that she found it difficult.

She wasn't sure if she felt comfort or not with the knowledge that Dumbledore knew about her powers. Although he was aware that Penny was related to Minerva, Penny wasn't sure how much he knew about her personally. Although she needn't have worried, as Minerva had spoken of Penny often to Dumbledore and it was obvious to him that Minerva thought a great deal of the young girl.

He had taken a keen interest in Penny's wellbeing and had assured Minerva that he would assist them both in finding out what this meant. He had also assured Minerva, one late night whilst they had sat beside her fire talking as they so often did, that he believed Penny's powers were nothing to fear, that he believed them to be signs of good things to come.

It was with that thought that Minerva now chose her words carefully, as she looked into the frightened eyes of the child before her.

'Penny, I can't tell you what any of this means, for I don't know. I may know a great deal about many things but this certainly isn't one of them. However, Professor Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards of our time and he has seen and done more things than you and I can possibly imagine. He doesn't believe that what is happening to you is anything bad, if anything he says it's for great reasons.

'Sometimes things happen to us that no one can explain, but you just have to trust that there's a reason for everything.'

At these words Penny gave a small smile and looked affectionately at her great aunt.

'You sound just like Grams; she's always saying things like that too.' She replied.

'And a wiser word she's never said.' Minerva replied also with a smile. 'Now come on, let's get you back to your dormitory. It'll soon be dark and I don't want anyone taking points of Gryffindor for a student being out after hours, especially not when we're so close to winning the House Cup this year.'

Penny laughed and allowed Minerva to usher her out of the room and escort her back to the Gryffindor common room, where she went straight up to bed, pulling the curtains round her and falling into a deep sleep quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

Penny woke early next morning to more bright sunny rays coming through the window beside her four poster bed. She heard the gentle snores coming from the other beds around her as the other girls in the dormitory slept on. She could also hear the birds twittering their dawn chorus outside, meaning it couldn't be much later than five in the morning.

Elsewhere in the castle Minerva was also stirring, another early riser, she quickly dressed and made her way down the stone spiral staircase that led to her office. Although it was the weekend and most, student and teacher alike, took the opportunity to rest and sleep in, this didn't appeal to Minerva in the slightest. It had always been the case, even in her own student days.

She liked to walk around the castle when it was quiet or around the castle grounds. Sometimes Hagrid would be out tending to the many mystical creatures Hogwarts owned or the ones he'd collected in his role as gamekeeper.

As she left the entrance hall and began to descend the steps to the grounds she heard a voice behind her.

'Morning Aunt Minerva.'

'Penny! What are you doing out of bed at this hour?' She said with surprise.

'I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd go for a walk. The grounds are so beautiful at this time.' Penny replied happily, her regular bubbly personality shining through once more, much to Minerva's delight.

'I should really be cross at you for being out of bed you know.' She said, although her tone wasn't angry.

'Sorry.' Penny mumbled in reply. 'How come you're up so early?'

'Same as you; so, seeing as we both had the same intentions maybe we should join each other?'

Penny looked delighted at that idea so together they set off in the direction of the lake.

The grass was still damp with dew and although it was clear it was going to be another hot day, there was still that morning nip in the air, creating exciting fresh scents. The sky was cloudless and there was a very gentle breeze blowing, tickling the Whomping Willow which began to shake with enjoyment at the sensation.

Minerva's feet had become so used to treading the grounds of Hogwarts that she moved automatically without even thinking of where she was going. Penny didn't ask where she was taking her, she just enjoyed being out in the open and enjoyed her present company.

Eventually they came to the fallen tree, a little more decayed than it had been seven years ago, but still intact and still Minerva's favourite place. Penny knew the spot well, remembering how she had spent many hours paddling in the water and playing on the stony beach, watched carefully by her grandmother and great aunt. They had regularly spent time there together during the weekends or on holidays after Elphinstone's death.

Now they both settled next to each other on the trunk of the tree. As Minerva closed her eyes and allowed her full mind to clear, Penny took out her wand and began practicing her levitation charm in revision for their upcoming end of year examinations. She soon had created a neat pile of rocks in front of her, moving them from the shore of the Black Lake. Minerva smiled at her as she watched her then levitate several sticks and twigs before conjuring flames from her wand and setting them alight in the centre of, what she now saw to be, a stone circle.

'Well done Penny. Your grams will be pleased to hear how well you've advanced; most first year students can only levitate things straight up in the air.' Minerva said proudly.

She couldn't deny that, even though it was a beautiful morning, she was appreciative of the warmth from the fire. It was a little colder in the shade of the trees and in the breeze. She closed her eyes in appreciation and enjoyed the warmth on her face, but she opened them quickly again when she heard the screeching of an owl nearby.

As she looked out across the lake she could see the owl flying straight towards them, a letter attached to one of its legs. He was a beautiful tawny owl with bright amber eyes, which could be seen clearly as he landed next to Minerva. She looked confused at him as he raised his leg for her to remove the letter. She still couldn't understand who would be writing to her at such an early time in the day, it hadn't even turned seven o'clock yet. However, when she read the letter her sense of urgency over took her and she could no longer think of anything else except getting back to the castle in time.

She extinguished Penny's fire and they both rushed off back towards the main entrance hall of the castle, with Penny having to run beside Minerva to catch up, concerned and unaware of what was happening. She had no idea who the letter was from or what could be so urgent, but she knew that the situation was very serious, for she had only once before seen the look on her aunt's face that she now carried.

Professor Dumbledore had obviously received the same letter as Minerva as he was already waiting for them both when they returned to her office.

'Have you received any further news Albus?' She asked him without greeting, grave concern etched into every line on her face.

'Not yet I'm afraid Minerva, but my understanding is that Robert is there waiting for you both.' He said as he looked from Minerva to a very out of breath and confused Penny. 'But perhaps before you go, it might be best if you explain the situation to Penny.' He added quickly when he saw Minerva make towards the pot of floo powder on her mantel piece.

Minerva turned to look at her great niece at a complete loss as to what to say to her. She looked into her young face and for the first time in her life she had no idea what to do for the best.

'Perhaps we should all sit down for a moment?' Dumbledore suggested, waving his wand to draw up a third chair for himself and allowing his colleague and student to sit.

'Aunt Minerva what's happened?' Penny asked wearily, aware that her eyes were already prickling with tears. 'Is it Grams?' She added.

'Yes it is.' She replied simply, her voice catching in her throat. 'She was attacked last night, by whom we still don't know, but she was taken immediately to St Mungo's Hospital.' She stopped briefly to take a deep breath and steady her nerves as her voice shook, she could barely believe the words she was speaking. 'Your Uncle Robert was notified and he's been at the hospital most of the night waiting for news, but I'm afraid it's not good Penny. He said in his letter that since the attack she has become very ill.'

'But she's going to be alright isn't she?!' Penny exclaimed.

'She…She's very seriously ill Penny.' Minerva replied quietly, unsure of exactly how to break the news to an eleven year old child, whose grandmother was her absolute world. 'The healers at St Mungo's have said that they don't expect her to survive for more than the next couple of days.'

Penny sat in stunned silence for a few seconds, imagining her grams laying on her death bed, wondering if she was in any pain or suffering, when suddenly she came to her senses and stood up immediately.

'We have to get to her immediately, I have to see her!' She exclaimed at once.

'I have already arranged for you to get there by floo powder.' Albus explained briefly as he watched Minerva take the floo powder from its pot.

She threw the powder into the fireplace and watched as bright green flames erupted, before grabbing hold of Penny's hand and pulling her inside. Penny had never travelled by floo powder before and was a little unsure of what to expect at first, but, after the initial shock, she found that she quite liked the warm sensation, even though she wasn't so keen on the disembodied feeling it also gave. Within a few seconds though this had stopped and she felt herself land on firm ground again, still clutching her aunt's hand.

They stepped out together into a brightly lit white room; a pale blue desk sat to the left of them, behind which sat an elderly witch, Penny guessed she was no older than Minerva, also wearing pale blue robes similar to her desk.

'Minerva it's good to see you, I just wished the circumstances were better.' She said as she approached them.

'Where is she?' Minerva answered sullenly, desperate to see Penelope before it was too late.

'She's through here. We've got her in a private room to give you all time with her away from prying eyes.' The elderly witch explained as she led them out of the room and into a long corridor.

'Is there really nothing you can do Martha?' Minerva asked as she rushed along in Martha's wake.

'We are still trying everything that we can, but we still don't exactly know what happened and all of the usual cures for common poisons haven't helped. We're still trying some of the more obscure antidotes, but she's not responded to any of them.' Martha explained as she finally stopped outside a door leading to another room. 'Your brothers are already inside Minerva.' She added.

Before entering the room Minerva stopped and looked at Penny.

'Are you sure you want to see her Penny? It may come as quite a shock to you.'

'I'm sure.' Penny nodded defiantly.

Taking her hand once more, Minerva led Penny slowly inside where she had to hold her own breath to prevent a gasp of horror escaping her lips; there, laid in the bed in front of her was her younger sister, looking ghostly white, although her skin seemed to have a slightly green tinge to it. The whites of her eyes had an eerie red glow to them, making her barely recognisable.

Minerva quickly turned to Penny, frightened that this sight may prove too much for her, but she was surprised to see that she, Penny, didn't seem to be affected by the sight. She just approached her grandmother and sat on her bed beside her as she would have done normally.

'Penny…' Penelope whispered hoarsely, clearly taking great effort to speak. 'Penny, I'm sorry you had to see me like this.' She said as she took hold of Penny's hand.

'You're going to be alright Grams. They'll cure you, I know they will…they have to.' Penny replied, her voice shaking slightly.

'Not this time…' Penelope replied weakly to her granddaughter, a very weak and watery smile playing on her lips. 'I want you to go and live with your Aunt Minerva and to ensure you continue you education. She's been keeping me informed on how well you've been doing and I'm so proud of you Penny, as would your mother have been if she were here.'

Penny looked away from her grandmother at the mention of her mother, as Jenny was very rarely mentioned by Penelope or any of the others, the pain of her memory and death still too painful to think about. It was also at the sound of Penelope's words that Penny felt Minerva's hand placed lovingly on her shoulder.

'You've got to promise to take good care of her Minerva.' Penelope continued after a few minutes of silence as she regained a small amount of energy to carry on.

'Of course.' Minerva replied quietly, swallowing down her emotion as they all tried to remain strong, but the tension and atmosphere was hard to bare.

Eventually it all became too much and Penny had to excuse herself from the room once her grandmother was asleep.

'I'll take her to get a drink Minerva.' Robert said as he and Penny left together.

He felt glad of the excuse to leave the rather oppressive feeling of the room that he'd just left, although he regretted it a little while later, as poor Penny clearly needed more support than he could give her.

Although he had spent some time with Penny over the years, it had always been Penelope and Minerva who had been with her the most and she clearly responded better to them than she ever would with him.

They sat quietly in the tea-room beside the window looking out on to the muggle street, whilst the self-pouring tea pot poured them both yet another cup of sweet tea.

They spent the next couple of hours sat in silence, watching the world beyond going about their business; oblivious to what was going on just a few metres away, until, finally, Penny decided that she wanted to go back.

As she slipped back into the room she saw Minerva mopping Penelope's sweating brow, a fever had clearly set in, although she no longer knew what was going on around her. Shortly after Penny and Robert had left the room she'd slipped into unconsciousness and hadn't stirred since. No one really wanted to admit it, but they could all tell that the end was nigh.

Eventually, some time after midnight and after many more hours of brow mopping and making sure Penelope was comfortable, her laboured breathing suddenly ceased. There was stunned silence for a few minutes before someone went to get one of the healers.

Everyone was exhausted, emotionally and physically, but none more so than Penny. She had been so convinced that an antidote would be found, even right up until the very last second, that to admit that her grandmother was gone took too much energy to even comprehend.

'Come on Penny, let's get you back. You need to rest before tomorrow.' Minerva whispered quietly as she steered Penny out of the private room and back to Martha's study.

She barely noticed the journey back to Hogwarts using the floo powder, nor did she even really notice that a second bed had been placed in Minerva's living quarters, placed by Dumbledore before they'd returned; she couldn't even really bear the thought of getting undressed, so she fell asleep, fully clothed and crying.


	4. Chapter 4

'Are you sure you want to stay until the end of term Penny? You don't have to you know.' Minerva replied to her great niece's reaction when asked if she wanted to take some leave until the following school year.

'Honest Aunt Minerva, I'll be fine; I just want to get on with it. Grams would want me to and taking time off isn't going to bring her back.' Penny said defiantly, trying to convince herself more than her aunt.

'Very well, if you're sure; but if you change your mind you just have to say the word. And I'm always here if you need to talk. I will also advise the rest of your teachers of the situation. Now you'd better go down to breakfast before your lessons start.' She said as she watched Penny disappear from sight.

It was Monday morning and Penny was determined to carry on as normal. Normal felt good to her; it was the only certain thing she had to cling to when the rest of her life was anything but normal. However, Minerva wasn't entirely convinced that continuing as normal was such a good idea.

She knew that her great niece was still in shock and that, regardless of what Penny said, at some point the shock would wear off and the grief would hit her. For now though she was just going to have to keep a close eye on her.

Minerva headed down to her class room to prepare for the fifth year class she had first thing. She was glad that she wasn't starting anything new and they were just revising for their upcoming OWLS. Like Penny, she was happy to keep busy and continue as normal as it kept her mind from her own pain, although her tolerance was even shorter than normal.

'You two! Miller! Brown! Come here at once!' She said irritably to two third year boys who had been sat in the corridor trying to hex each other, attempting, she suspected, to get themselves out of their first class. 'What exactly do you think you are doing?'

'Well Professor…' Miller began to say and looked desperately at his friend for help, who looked just as desperately back at him.

'We were just…just…' Brown tried to continue, but words also seemed to fail him.

'Well seeing as neither of you can come up with a reasonable explanation and seeing as it's very obvious what you were trying to do, I think an evening's detention is in order and ten points from Ravenclaw. Now get to your class immediately and don't ever let me see you doing that again!' She barked.

The two students quickly disappeared under her watchful eye as she glared after them, before turning on her heel and walking into the sanctuary of her class room, just as the school bell rang.

'Right I want you all to take out your text books and quietly revise. There will be no need to talk unless you have any questions you would like to ask.' She said as the fifth years sat in their seats, the sound of scraping chairs and shuffling school bags filling the air.

Whilst the fifth years were studying Minerva took the opportunity to mark the first year homework she hadn't managed to do over the weekend and was glad that they weren't in until the afternoon. The silence in the classroom, except for the occasional sound of turning pages, allowed her the peace of mind to get on with her work and to think over some of the things that had been troubling her over the weekend.

She was just finishing the last couple of essays when a second year girl entered the room and walked up to her desk with a note.

'Please Professor; I have a note from Professor Dumbledore.' She said a little timidly.

Minerva took the note from the girl and opened it. Professor Dumbledore wanted to see her when she next had a free class, to discuss her situation. She was grateful that she didn't have a class following her fifth years, meaning she could go up to him almost immediately. She wrote a reply to him on the back and handed it back to the young girl.

'If you could take this back to Professor Dumbledore Cripps, thank you.'

The young girl walked quickly out of the room and Minerva turned her attentions to her fifth year class, until the bell eventually rang. As soon as the last student had left she headed straight up to Dumbledore's office.

'Fizzing Whizbee.' She said to the gargoyle in front of the entrance to his office.

The gargoyle nodded his head and jumped aside, revealing the stone staircase behind.

'Ah Minerva,' Dumbledore greeted her once she had climbed the stairs and entered the room 'how are you?' He asked her kindly as she took the seat opposite his desk.

'Tired, but I'm fine Albus, thank you.' She said, finally allowing herself to look as tired as she felt.

'How is Penny?'

'She's stubborn and determined like her grandmother.' Minerva replied as she allowed herself a small smile.

'Much like her great aunt also.' Dumbledore added and reciprocated his friend's smile. 'We haven't got much time for me to explain what I have to I'm afraid Minerva. The Minister and the Head of Magical Law Enforcement will be joining us shortly.'

Minerva looked a little concerned at these words. Visits from the Minister of Magic never meant anything good, but they'd never received a visit from the Head of Magical Law Enforcement before.

'Cornelius and Amelia have a few things they would like to speak to you about, but there are a few things I would like you to hear from me first.' Dumbledore said.

'Now as we both know, of course, in her capacity as an auror Penelope was responsible for the capture of most of the men and women found in Azkaban and we also both know that she often went off on her own, vanquishing more evil in our world than most aurors will see in their lifetime.

'We also know there has been a fight for command within the dark arts since Lord Voldemort lost his powers; there are many dark witches and wizards and other beings who want to continue his work, but most of the culprits have either been apprehended over the last ten years or have killed each other in their fight for supremacy.

'However, there is one wizard who has managed to evade capture and has been gaining power and respect even quicker that Voldemort had. His name is Elpherick Gryzendo and I believe it was he who attacked and killed Penelope.' Dumbledore explained calmly.

'I still don't understand how that can be though Albus. No one at St Mungo's had any idea what the poison was and I'd certainly never come across it, even in my time at the Law Enforcement office.' Minerva replied.

But before Dumbledore could respond to her there was a knock on his door, which was opened enthusiastically by Cornelius Fudge, who swept quickly into the room, closely followed by Amelia Bones.

'Professor McGonagall my dear; may I first of all extend my deepest sympathy at your loss. Penelope's death has come as quite a shock to us all at the Ministry, but please be reassured that we are doing all we can to apprehend her attackers.' Cornelius said as he shook Minerva's hand, however, Minerva wasn't entirely convinced or comforted by his words.

The four of them sat for some time discussing the situation, what the Ministry were intending to do and the Minister seemed particularly keen to assure Minerva that he personally was trying to do all he could. However, as Dumbledore had predicted, Cornelius made no mention of Gryzendo; in fact he was making it sound as if it was just a random attack and had nothing to do with Penelope's work at all.

On hearing all that she could stand Minerva excused herself from their company. She'd had enough flannelling to last her a life time and she certainly wasn't in the mood for it.

'If you will excuse me Cornelius I have a class waiting for me…' She said as she got up from her chair.

'Oh, why yes of course Minerva.' He said with a faint smile.

She smiled slightly at Dumbledore as she left, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as she descended the stairs into the corridor.

She walked straight towards the portrait of an old woman who appeared to be doing battle with a troll.

'Algora trapenesium.' She said to the portrait which swung open and revealed a secret passageway, which led down into the courtyard, cutting out plenty of corridors and turns.

She walked briskly through the courtyard and into the corridor leading to her classroom, where she found her first years waiting noisily outside her classroom for her.

'Right in you go please. I want you all to quickly and quietly get out your textbooks please. Mr Xavier can you hand out the homework to everyone please?' She said as she handed a Hufflepuff boy the homework she'd marked that morning.

Whilst everyone was busy at their desks, Minerva looked at Penny who was very subdued and looked on the verge of tears. It seemed that Tonks had also noticed her friend's distress and was trying to quietly encourage her to talk, but Penny only shook her head and looked up expectantly at Minerva, waiting for her to start the class.

'Now the homework as a whole was somewhat disappointing. One or two of you have clearly grasped the concept of transfiguration and why it is useful to the average witch or wizard; however, most of you failed to explain or explain clearly that transfiguration was one of the first forms of magic first established in our world. Now I expect much better standards than this if you are going to pass your end of year exams.' She explained sternly as she looked around the classroom, occasionally allowing her gaze to hold on Penny for a little longer than the others.

'I want you to copy the text from the board on the history of transfiguration and then turn to page three hundred and ninety four of your books and answer the questions.'

Minerva sat herself behind her desk and watched the room as they all frantically wrote down what she'd written on the board.

Penny was trying to concentrate on the text she was reading about the first witch to ever turn a rock into a teapot, but the harder she tried to read, the harder it became to stop the tears in her eyes rolling down her cheeks. Wet pools began to form on her paper and Minerva could no longer ignore her niece's pain.

Going over to Penny she gently tapped her on the shoulder and led her out of the room. Naturally the whole class looked confused and watched them as they left, with no idea as to why or when Penny had started to cry.

'I think it's time you and I took that time off don't you?' Minerva said once they were outside in the corridor and some distance from the classroom.

Penny was now sobbing harder than she'd ever cried in her life and Minerva allowed her to continue as they sat on one of the benches. She placed her arm comfortingly around Penny's shoulders and held her tightly. She stroked Penny's soft honey blonde hair as the young girl began to cry herself quiet. She was exhausted and distressed as her grief finally took over as Minerva had predicted.

'I want you to go up to the hospital wing for a little while and rest. Madam Pomfry will give you something to help. I'll send Miss Tonks up with you if you like?' She said quietly once the flow of Penny's tears had subsided a little.

Penny nodded her head in acknowledgement, too tired to fight it and having to admit defeat. She watched as her aunt left her, returning a few minutes later with Tonks having just filled her in briefly on the situation.

'I'll take you both up to the hospital wing and then I'll have to return to class.' Minerva said as the three of them walked across the castle corridors.

They found Madam Pomfry in her office, stocking up on ingredients and brewing some new potions, but she stopped immediately when she saw Minerva and the two girls.

'What on earth has happened Johnston?' She asked when she saw Penny's tearstained and reddened face.

'Poppy, Miss Johnston's grandmother died suddenly at the weekend and I think she's suffering from shock.' Minerva explained to the sympathetic nurse. 'I've sent Miss Tonks up with her, I hope that's ok?'

'Of course, of course. Here, have some of this, it'll help with the shock.' Madam Pomfry said as she poured a purple potion into a cup and led Penny out to one of the beds, where she obediently laid down.

She drank the potion in two short gulps, enjoying the calming feeling it gave her. She felt herself sink into the soft pillows below her and she felt certain she wouldn't be able to remain awake for long.

'I'll be back up to check on her as soon as I've finished my classes Poppy, but if anything happens and she needs me sooner, just send Miss Tonks to get me.' Minerva said as she left the room.

As soon as Madam Pomfry and Professor McGonagall had left, Tonks turned to her friend, a concerned expression on her face.

'Why didn't you tell me Penny?' She asked.

Penny looked at Tonks and felt tears swell in her eyes once more.

'I'm sorry Dora. I guess I was trying to pretend this weekend hadn't happened. I'd already lost my mum, I've no idea where my father is, he left long before I was born and my Grams was sort of all I had.' She explained quietly.

'What'll happen to you now?'

'I'm going to live with my…' For a split second Penny had forgotten that Tonks didn't know that Minerva was her great aunt, but she guessed it was now better to tell her best friend the truth, rather than tell her more lies. '…I'm going to live with Professor McGonagall. See, she's my great auntie, she was my Grams' older sister.' She explained.

'Oh!' Tonks replied with a slightly shocked expression to begin with, but then added it all up in her head and realised that it explained a few things that happened over the year.

Before they could discuss it further though Penny had drifted to sleep, the potion finally taking full affect. She slept on for hours and didn't notice Tonks leave when Minerva returned as she'd promised, but she daren't wake her niece for it was the first time she'd slept properly in a few days. She just sat with her and watched over her, waiting for the moment she would wake herself.


	5. Chapter 5

A week or so later an owl flew through the cottage window and into the cluttered kitchen where both Minerva and Penny were sat having breakfast. The owl brought two letters, one for each of them. Instead of flying off afterwards the owl stayed with them for a short while, waiting, Penny presumed, to take an answer back to the sender.

Sure enough once Minerva had finished reading her letter she went to the bureau in the living room and took out a new piece of parchment, ink and a quill, whilst Penny opened her letter from Tonks.

_Dear Penny_

_Hope you and Professor McGonagall are alright. It's not the same without both of you here._

_We finished our end of year exams today; I think I did alright, just got to wait for the results next week now. _

_I hope I'll see you over the holidays._

_Tonks_

Penny smiled a little when she saw her friend's letter, especially when she realised a chocolate frog had been included. She took a few mouthfuls of her porridge when Minerva returned.

'Who was your letter from?' Minerva asked as she sat back down opposite.

'Tonks; she was asking after you, wanted to know we're both ok and she's missing us.'

'Did she say how she got on in her exams?'

'She thinks she did alright.' Penny said, taking a large gulp of juice and watched her aunt write her letter. 'Who was your letter from?'

For a moment Minerva considered not replying, but she knew she would be giving Penny a disservice by not giving her an explanation.

'It was from Professor Dumbledore; he'll be joining us later today, he wants to speak to us both.' She replied, her long hair falling down around her shoulders.

At Hogwarts she would never be seen to have her hair down, but away from the castle she allowed her hair to flow freely. Over the years her once dark auburn colour had faded to a much lighter shade, with grey streaks now forming. With her hair down she didn't look nearly as severe and it framed her face with slight kinky twists.

Penny always preferred seeing her aunt with her hair down, as had her grandmother. She remembered how her grams used to remove her older sister's hair from its bun when she had it up in their company, much to Minerva's displeasure sometimes, meaning she'd have to put it up all over again. Her thoughts at these memories made Penny smile, it was nice to think happy things about her grams.

'What are you smiling at?' Minerva asked her, a confused smile on her own face.

'Nothing, I was just thinking about Grams, that's all.' She replied. 'What does Professor Dumbledore want to speak to us about?'

'I'm not sure, he doesn't say in his letter.'

'OK. Aunt Minerva can you pass the salt please?' Penny asked as she held her hand outstretched on the table; but Minerva didn't have to pass the salt, as it moved of its own accord into Penny's hand.

'I suspect what he wants to speak to us about may have something to do with that.' Minerva replied, sounding a little surprised but tried to make her tone sound as casual as she could when she saw her niece's concerned expression. 'Once you've finished your breakfast I want you to go up and get dressed please.' She added.

Penny didn't say anything further but quickly ate her breakfast, not wanting anything further to happen. She then excused herself from the table and ran upstairs, whilst Minerva attached her reply to Dumbledore to the patiently waiting owl's leg, which then flew off to deliver his post.

Upstairs Penny sat on the window seat in the bay window in her bedroom, staring out at the loch below. Her grams' cottage was near coast in the north of Scotland, not too far from where she had grown up in Caithness. The beach below was their own private sanctuary as no muggle ever knew anything about it.

The cottage itself was quirky; painted a fantastic deep blue with a bright yellow sun painted on the gable end. There were some chickens loose in the courtyard, where Penelope's old Morris Minor Traveller sat. A dry stone wall ran around the outside of the boundary of the property, a blue gate at the entrance and a rose arch.

Surrounding the cottage was a forest and in the distance was Ardnagrask, a small mountain that Penny had often climbed. The view from which really stole your breath.

Inside each room was as cluttered as the last; full of spell books, parchment and potion ingredients. There were photographs everywhere of Penelope's family, most featuring Penny as a small child and a few of her mother Jenny. However, there were no photographs in existence of Penny and her mother together before she died.

Penny had only been a few weeks old when Jenny had been killed. No one in the family talked about Jenny's death as they all found it too painful, so Penny didn't know much about what had happened. All she knew was that her grams had given her a very loving and happy home and they had shared a very special bond like no other.

As she stared out of the window she saw a figure apparate into view; his long white beard tied in the middle, his half-moon glasses perched neatly on his nose and his robes of deep maroon blowing gently in the light breeze.

On seeing Professor Dumbledore arrive Penny realised that she was supposed to have been dressed almost an hour ago. She quickly wrenched open the doors to her closet and pulled on an old pair of jeans and a hooded red jumper, before rushing down the wooden, slightly spiralled, staircase, where she found Dumbledore and her Aunt Minerva sat on the wicker chairs in the sunroom.

'Ah Penny, how wonderful to see you.' Dumbledore greeted her with a large smile. 'Sherbet Lemon?' He added as he offered her a sweet from the brown paper bag in his hand.

She politely took one and thanked him as she put it in her mouth and looked at him expectantly, still unsure as to why he was there, but hoping she may finally get some answers regarding the recent events.

'Before you and your great aunt left Hogwarts, I began to provide some answers to the situation that you have both found yourself in. I knew your grandmother well Penny, she was a wonderful woman and I am very saddened by her passing, but she always knew that this was a possibility; which is why she entrusted me with something shortly after you were born, to give to you both in the event of her death and if she died before she could explain the truth to you.' Dumbledore explained as he took out a yellowing envelope from his pocket and handed it to Minerva.

'I would like your great aunt to read it first if you don't mind, as I have a few things I would like to explain to you first. However, I must warn you both that the information I am going to give you today will be hard for you to hear and will be harder for you both to understand.' He added as Penny silently nodded at him.

'I know Penny that you are aware of your family's heritage, aware that you come from a long line of dark wizard hunters and demon catchers. I am also aware that you have never been told the truth surrounding your mother's death, but I will leave that for your Aunt Minerva to explain to you in a moment, as I think it best it comes from her.

'For now I shall explain that your recent developments in your powers come from who you are. They are nothing to be ashamed of or to fear as you come from a strong and powerful bloodline; you come from Godric Gryffindor himself.'

Minerva looked up sharply from the letter she was reading and Penny stared at him open mouthed, neither of them were aware that they were descendants of Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts and the founder of Penny's house, the house Minerva was head of. They were both stunned at the news, but neither realised that that was just a fraction of the information they were about to receive.

'Over the course of his life Gryffindor fought some of the world's darkest wizards and witches and evil entities. He formed meetings with elder wizards and witches who, like himself, wanted to banish evil from our world and who had proved themselves worthy. It was during one of these meetings that one of these elders came to him with a prediction. They had foreseen a child born into our world who would be more powerful than any other, with powers that others could only dream of. This child would be the light in a world of dark, Aurora the Angel of Adustum.'

'Aurora?' Penny exclaimed with astonishment. 'But that's one of my middle names. I'm named Penelope after Grams, Minerva after my Aunt Minerva and Aurora, but I never knew why.'

She sat in silence for a few moments trying to grasp what Dumbledore was saying to her, but it was too much to even begin to comprehend.

'This can't be right Professor; I can't possibly be the Angel of Asto…Asta…'

'Adustum Penny, it means light.' Minerva said quietly as she finished reading the final words of her sister's letter, tears clearly visible in her eyes.

What she read shocked her to her core and on top of what Dumbledore had just said her mind exploded with confusion.

'Albus, I'm not sure Penny's ready to hear the rest yet. It's too much for me to even comprehend, let alone an eleven year old child!' She explained, desperate to protect her great niece.

'But she must hear it Minerva, for her to truly understand what is happening and what is to come, she must know the truth.' He explained to his friend before turning back to Penny.

'There are so many secrets to your life Penny that have to be revealed to you today and of course your Aunt Minerva is right; it is unfair to expect a child to understand them and appreciate them, but please understand this; your great aunt and I are going to be with you every step of the way, to help you and to answer all of your questions. As long as you have us, you will never be alone.'

Penny prepared herself for what was to come next and nodded her head, holding out her hand for the letter previously read by Minerva.

'Before you read that Penny, there is just one more thing I want to explain to your first.' Dumbledore said and smiled as Penny gave him her full attention.

'During their meetings each elder learned to become an Animagus so that they could become an animal familiar to new witches and wizards or to those who needed a little help and guidance.

'Over time they located others to continue their work, training them to be Animagi too. Each familiar would find their charge in their animal form first of all and then, when the time was right, reveal themselves in their human form to continue together in their fight against evil. And now I think it time you hear from your aunt.' He said finally as he looked at Minerva, who still didn't look convinced that this was a good idea, but she continued none the less.

'You should have been told about Jenny long ago Penny, we should have told you.' She began to explain, her voice shaky and catching in her throat. 'Like many of our family your mother decided from a very young age to become an auror and she was incredibly skilled at it. But she joined at the height of You-Know-Who and the auror office was constantly taking hits.

'The day your mother died she had received intelligence that a muggle family with a muggle born witch had been captured and were being tortured. So she went with your grandmother to the location they were advised, but it was a trap; there was no muggle family, but there were death eaters. They wanted to stop them putting away any more of their army and wanted to use them for information.

'I won't go into detail about what happened next, but your mother and grandmother fought valiantly, but it wasn't enough; they murdered Jenny and after seeing her daughter killed Penelope only just escaped from them, badly injured and mentally scarred for years after.' Minerva explained with great difficulty, it took a lot to talk about something her family hadn't brought themselves to discuss in over eleven years.

However, Minerva chose not to continue. Regardless of what her sister had instructed or what Dumbledore wanted, she could see that Penny had had enough for one day. If she was perfectly honest, they both had.

'That's enough for today Albus. She needs to rest after that; it's not fair to bombard her with all of that information and expect her to be alright with it. I will tell her the rest in a few days' time when she's ready.' She said forcefully, leaving Dumbledore in no doubt that her decision was final, a wish he respected.

Although Penny wanted to know what her grandmother had written, her brain was so full that she didn't think she could cope with anything further and she was grateful for her aunt's protection. She still couldn't understand how anything she'd heard today was true and she also couldn't help think about her mum on the night she'd died.

She handed Minerva the letter, who then placed it into the pocket of her robes for safe keeping and then nothing further was said about it. The three of them sat and talked about everything but what had been talked about that day, until, finally, Dumbledore decided it was time for him to head back to Hogwarts.

He bade them farewell before disapparating into the night, leaving Minerva and Penny to their evening hot chocolate beside the fire, both of them drinking in complete silence as they contemplated the day's events.


	6. Chapter 6

When Hogwarts finally broke for the summer holidays Tonks came to stay at the cottage with Penny and Minerva for a couple of weeks, giving them both a welcome distraction from recent events. The two girls had spent most of their time exploring the loch, walking on the beach or playing in the forest. Occasionally they would take their brooms out and race each other across the moorland, only returning home for something to eat every now and then. More often than not they wouldn't return home until after dark, only when they could no longer see their hands in front of their faces, happy and exhausted.

On a couple of rainy and miserable days they sat downstairs in the living room beside the large, black, cast iron fire place, which was surrounded by an ornate wooden mantelpiece. Above the mantelpiece was a large oval mirror, in which your reflection would sometimes take on a life of its own, often pulling faces at you or walking off altogether. Laid all around the living room were books of all different shapes, sizes and colours from all across the globe, collected by Penelope during the course of her travels.

There were also many artefacts in the house belonging to Penelope that had always interested Penny. There were little silver trinket boxes, with bright jewels encrusted on the lids, which would turn from a bright emerald green to red when someone with bad intentions was near. They would also make their contents disappear if opened by anyone other than the owner.

There were also many amulets and talismans placed all around the living room, to protect the house's inhabitants. There were also crystals placed all over the house, to also protect and encourage growth.

Penny had always loved all of the quirky things her grandmother brought back from her trips away. She'd always bring her back a gift and stories of the evil she had defeated. Penny would wait, rather impatiently, for her grandmother's return, much to the displeasure of her great grandmother or great aunt, depending on who was taking care of her at the time, as she would ask them constantly for news or when she'd be returning home.

Penny adored her great aunt and great grandmother, who had sadly passed away a few years earlier, but her love for her grandmother was like none other and nobody ever quite compared. Penelope had to fill in as mother, father and grandmother and she very much felt the same for her granddaughter, fiercely protective of her and incredibly proud of her and her achievements.

'Aunt Minerva, in what year did the Ministry of Magic introduce the Statue of Human Transfiguration?' Penny asked on one particularly dull afternoon, as she and Tonks sat on the floor with their transfiguration homework laid in front of them.

Minerva looked at them both over the rim of her glasses and placed the book she had been reading beside her, inserting a book mark to keep her place.

'It should tell you in your text book.' She replied as she looked at them both, never being one to give a student the answer, believing that they would only learn if they found the information themselves.

'Well that's just it, I've been searching for ages, but I'm confused. On page two hundred and twenty six it says that the use of transfiguration on humans was used illegally by a dark wizard named Izmark Wendigum in 1247, but on page two hundred and thirty it states that the first Transfiguration Law wasn't introduced until 1301.' Penny explained, her nosed wrinkled in confusion, a look somewhat matched by Tonks.

'So what does that tell you both?'

'That the text book is wrong and likes confusing us?' Penny replied hopefully, much to the disdain of her aunt.

'Is it possible that it came under another wizarding law?' Tonks asked, feeling doubtful that she was correct. 'I mean, maybe it was a clause in something else?' She added.

'Exactly Tonks!' Minerva said with a smile, but still not willing to give them the full answer. 'So what do you think you're looking for now then?'

'The initial law in which the Statute of Human Transfiguration is originally stated?' Penny asked rhetorically, turning once again to her book.

'I'd try reading the chapter again from the beginning.' Minerva suggested casually as she grabbed her book once more, with the smallest of smile's forming.

Over the next few days this became their routine as the last minute rush to finish their homework set in, until the final week of the summer holidays arrived. Excited at the thought of returning to Hogwarts, but saddened that they would soon be leaving the private sanctuary of Ardnagrask Cottage, Penny and Tonks spent their last few days together on the beach.

Tonks was to return home a couple of days before term started so she could spend some time with her family, whilst Penny would be returning to Hogwarts with Minerva a couple of days early, as Minerva needed to arrive with the other teachers to prepare for the upcoming year.

Whilst Tonks and Penny were out on the beach on their final day together, Minerva took the opportunity to collect her things together and pack them in her trunk, when she spotted the letter given to her by Dumbledore sat on her bedside table.

She'd read her sister's letter through time and time again, until she must have read it over a hundred times since Dumbledore had given it to her; but it didn't make reading its contents any easier. It also didn't make the idea of telling Penny any easier either, but she knew she was going to have and she was going to have to do it sooner rather than later. She didn't want Penny going to Hogwarts without knowing the complete truth, but that meant that she was running out of time.

However, Penny still hadn't come to terms with what Dumbledore had told her the day he had visited them and to let her read the contents of that letter would certainly destroy her at this present moment. So Minerva hadn't pushed it, in fact they hadn't even mentioned anything about it, although she knew that when Penny was ready she would come asking, but she was concerned that the decision might be taken out of her hands and she would soon be forced to tell her.

As she tried to shake the thoughts from her mind she glanced out of the window and watched as Penny and Tonks ran about on the beach beside the loch, running in and out of the water, screaming and giggling in the cold. She smiled and decided to abandon her packing until later, preferring the idea of joining the two girls than being stuck inside.

Penny and Tonks were enjoying playing in the loch, skimming stones across the water and swimming across to a small island near the middle, until they saw Minerva on the beach, who called them back for lunch. She'd conjured a few plates of sandwiches and cakes which were now placed on the red tartan rug she'd laid out on the sand.

A light breeze was blowing as they ate as much as they could, the plates kept refilling themselves each time they came close to finishing. There were a couple of clouds streaked across the bright blue sky and the hot sun was beating down on them, a perfect way to spend a summer's day.

'Thanks Aunt Minerva for this.' Penny said with delight, taking yet another sandwich.

'You're welcome.' Minerva smiled back. 'Now if you're going back into the water make sure you don't swim too far out, because I won't come in after you if you get into difficulty.' She added as they both finished eating and made their way back to the water.

Both girls giggled, mumbled something about "we won't" and then ran off. Minerva smiled again as she watched them, before taking out her book and beginning to read.

'Don't you find it weird being Professor McGonagall's niece?' Tonks asked once they were out of earshot.

'Not really; I mean she's always been my great aunt so I don't really know any difference.' Penny replied with a giggle. 'But I don't want everyone at school to know; I'm not ashamed to be her great niece, but can you imagine what Barton would say if she found out?'

'Good point. Well I think most of the teachers know now. I heard Snape and Hooch mentioning how Professor McGonagall had lost her sister and was now her sister's granddaughter's guardian.' Tonks explained, as they both now tip toed their way over some rocks.

'That's not so bad I guess; Aunt Minerva did say she thought they'd figure it out one day, but she's planning to tell them all when we get back anyway. Although I bet old Snape would love it if we didn't come back.'

'Why?'

'Snape is like the assistant deputy headmaster; meaning that in the absence of Dumbledore and Aunt Minerva he's in charge.' Penny explained.

'Git!' Tonks replied, making Penny laugh. 'How you ever managed to get top marks in his class I'll never know Pen, he hates anyone that's not in his house. Although Barton didn't do so well in her exams, so I think he was furious when he found out.'

The two girls sat on the rocks looking out onto the loch as the day began to draw to a close. In the distance they could see the sun begin to set and it was slowly becoming dusk around them. Penny was laughing as Tonks scrunched up her face and changed her nose into a different shape and then her hair, making it go from blonde to pink and from short to long and back again.

As their laughter died down and they became quiet once more, Penny began to think. She was really going to miss Tonks for the few days they'd be separated and she knew that once she was alone with Minerva, they would have to discuss the prophecy and what was in her grandmother's letter.

'Are you alright Penny?' Tonks asked her with concern as she saw the blank look on Penny's face, although her brow was creased in thought.

'Me? Yeah, yeah course I am, why wouldn't I be?' Penny replied quickly, too quickly for Tonks' liking.

'What's wrong?' She pressed and she stared intently at her friend.

Finally, after several weeks of trying to force it to the back of her mind, Penny opened up about what Dumbledore had said. She told Tonks about being related to Gryffindor, about being the Angel of Adustum and the letter from her grandmother.

Of course Tonks was shocked at first. She had heard about the Angel of Adustum, as had most in the wizarding world, but she never thought for a moment that the Angel actually existed, let alone that she would be friends with her.

'What do you think is in the letter?' Tonks asked as they walked back towards the cottage.

It had now become dark and Minerva had long since gone back up to the house. They could just make out the outline of smoke billowing from the chimney.

'I don't know; but from the way Aunt Minerva reacted when she read it, I can't imagine it's anything good.' Penny exclaimed, a lump of fear forming in her throat as she thought about it.

They continued to talk about it all the way up to the front door of the house until they entered, suddenly becoming quiet until they saw Tonks' mum Andromeda sitting in the living room waiting for them.

'We were beginning to think you were never coming home.' She said as she greeted her daughter with a tight hug.

Andromeda was a tall, slim woman with a pointy face. Her wild dark brown hair had silver streaks which made her pale complexion look even paler. She had dark rather striking eyes, which at first glance could be mistaken as unkind or unfeeling eyes; but on the contrary, as Andromeda was very kind and loving, completely the opposite of the rest of her family.

The two women and two girls made their way into the kitchen to the very large stone fireplace, where Andromeda took out some floo powder.

'Bye Tonks.' Penny said as she hugged her friend goodbye.

'See you in a few days.' Tonks waved as she and her mother disappeared.

Once they were gone an awkward silence fell around the cottage as Penny tried to avoid her great aunt's gaze. Minerva was still trying to assess the situation, trying to decide when the best time to allow Penny the opportunity to read the letter.

Penny had decided that she still wasn't ready to read the letter yet, but there were one or two things she wanted to know, things she hoped Minerva could answer.

'If you have a question Penny, ask it; I'll do my best to answer.' Minerva said calmly once she and Penny were sat in the living room, in their night clothes and dressing gowns, with a mug of hot chocolate a piece. She had sensed for some time that Penny was desperate to ask something.

'Did you and Grams know I was the Angel of Adustum?'

'I believe your grandmother knew from the day you were born, or at least from when you first started showing your powers; I, however, only discovered the truth about who you are the night your grandmother died.

'She had intended to tell you herself, when she felt you were old enough to understand, but obviously that decision was taken out of her hands. There's a lot about the Prophecy of Adustum that Professor Dumbledore didn't tell you, things that I will do my best to reveal to you over time, as it's quite a burden to shoulder. But as Professor Dumbledore also said, both he and I are here for you, to help you and to guide you.' Minerva explained.

'If there's light there always got to be dark; so if I'm known as the Angel of Light, do I have to fight evil? Are there dark warlocks and entities waiting for me, like Grams always warned me about?' Penny continued as her mind racing with all the possibilities, the good and the bad.

'That's not something you will have to worry about any time soon, but I think your destiny is becoming quite clear. You're going to go on to do fantastic things Penny, but for now you need to concentrate on learning skills that'll assist you in that future, before you consider anything else.' Minerva replied after a few minutes of silence.

'And now I think it time we both went off to bed. We've got a busy few days ahead of us, so we'll both need our rest.'

Penny thought that her aunt's reply was rather evasive to that particular question, but the look her aunt gave her made her not want to push the subject further. For now, exhausted and mentally drained, she was going to have to let the subject rest, much like herself.

She climbed the candlelit stairway to her bedroom, lighting her oil lamps in her bedroom and falling into bed. Her mind was still whirring with regards to the prophecy, knowing there was more for her to discover, but feeling a little annoyed the her great aunt would tell her nothing further. She wasn't sure what she preferred, being told her role in dribs and drabs or being told everything at once.

Before she could think further on the matter though she had drifted off to sleep, closely followed by Minerva in the room next to her, who had quietly been cursing her sister for leaving her in this position in the first place.


	7. Chapter 7

The day before the students all returned to the school Penny was already there, wandering the castle grounds. She found it very strange to be in the castle without the sound of shouting and laughter from her fellow students, with just the ghosts and teachers around the castle was very empty indeed.

However, Penny was enjoying exploring the castle, finding the many secret passages and visiting areas she'd never been into before. She and Tonks hadn't had much time to explore the castle the previous year; they had pretty much just gone to class, their dormitories or sat around outside in the grounds.

She now found herself in a part of the castle that she'd never been before, but she knew it was known as the tapestry corridor because it was full of various tapestries and portraits. As she walked down the corridor towards the defence against the dark arts corridor, she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow sweeping round the corner. Curiosity getting the better of her she decided to follow it; however, when she got round the corner it had vanished.

For a few moments she thought she'd imagined it and continued walking towards the defence against the dark arts classroom, until she heard a noise behind her and then a voice. The noise she heard first was a kind of swooshing noise, almost like the wind but slightly more subtle.

'Who are you and what are you doing here?!' The voice said, loud and gruff, making the hairs on the back of Penny's neck stand on end.

When Penny turned to face the person who had spoken to her she was met by a very tall man, with dark grey hair, very pale skin and pale eyes, which Penny thought, for a moment, were tinged red in colour. He was dressed in a long black cloak and his whole demeanour gave Penny the creeps. She couldn't help think that he would even make Snape look cheerful next to him, something she never thought possible.

'I'm Penny, Penny Johnston. I'm a second year student.' She replied timidly.

'And what're you doing here?' He asked rather aggressively.

'Well, um...I…' She stammered before someone else spoke, a much softer voice.

'Ah Issachar I see you've already met our young Miss Johnston here. Penny, this is Professor Paton; he'll be our new defence against the dark arts teacher.' Dumbledore said as he approached them and Penny was really glad to see him.

'Penny is Minerva McGonagall's great niece Issachar.' He added.

Penny stared at the new professor and instantly felt dislike for him; there was something about him that made her feel on edge.

'Penny why don't you go for a walk in the grounds. I'm sure Hagrid would love to see you.' Dumbledore said as he watched Penny nod her head and disappear off.

She was grateful to be away from the new teacher, whom she wasn't looking forward to having lessons with this year. She hadn't been particularly fond of Professor Lochbridge, a particular squat wizard who's idea of teaching had involved him droning on and on about his time as an auror. He very rarely allowed them to use magic and when he did he would let them try the spell once, before going on for the rest of the lesson about what they were doing wrong. However, over this new guy she would have had Lochbridge any time.

She still thought it odd that Lochbridge had just disappeared one day, just before Penny and Minerva had left. He had left no indication as to where he was going, but one day a class turned up and was left the whole lesson without a teacher.

She finally made her way into the brightly lit grounds and was just walking down to Hagrid's hut when she met him, wrestling some sort of ugly looking creature. It looked like a cross between a snake and a lobster, as it had no legs but was covered in dark blue plates to help protect it.

'Amazin' creatures the serpdeloin.' He said as he struggled to hold the wriggling six foot long creature, made only worse when its armoured plating disappeared and Hagrid was covered in a green slime.

'I foun' a nest o' them by the lake at the start o' the school 'olidays. Amazin' defence system, you see; they try to wiggle 'emselves free and if tha' don' work, they shed their armour and produce this slime.' Hagrid explained as he finally got the serpdeloin into a crate and showed Penny the thick green slime covering his hands and moleskin coat.

'Anyway, what're yeh doin' here so early? Term doesn' start 'til tomorrow.'

'Oh, well…um…' Penny stammered at first, not exactly sure what to say.

'Tell yeh what; let's get a cup o' tea eh?' Hagrid said as he led her inside his cabin.

Penny smiled with delight and followed Hagrid into his large cabin, which was really just a single room with a large fire place, a bed, a table with chairs and a couple of very large armchairs. She sat down at the kitchen table, her chin barely reached the top of it, but she was glad to be back in Hagrid's company.

They had become good friends over the previous school year; she loved going down to his hut to visit him and was fascinated by all of the creatures he would talk to her about. In turn she used to tell him about some of her grandmother's adventures and about all the creatures she had met abroad.

'Here yeh go.' Hagrid said as he placed a bucket sized mug in front of her. 'So are yeh goin' to tell me why you're 'ere so early?'

'Well you know how Grams died at the end of last term? Well I'm now living with my great auntie, she's planning to tell the rest of the staff today anyway, but my great aunt is Professor McGonagall.

'She obviously needed to be here today to finish up a few things before the start of term.' She explained as she heaved the large mug of hot, sweet tea in front of her, trying not to spill any of it as she drank, which was a difficult task as Fang, Hagrid's boarhound, kept trying to stick his head in the way.

'Ah I see; that'd explain a few things I 'eard o'er the summer. There was a rumour yeh see that she'd left, started no doubt by one o' the students, but someone 'ad said she'd gone after 'er sister'd died.' He explained, taking a few sips of tea from his own large mug. 'Course I never believed it, but I think a few of the other teachers did.'

'I don't think Aunt Minerva will ever leave Hogwarts Hagrid, she loves it here too much.' Penny explained with a large smiled.

Hogwarts wouldn't be Hogwarts without Minerva McGonagall.

'So are yeh goin' ter stay 'ere until tomorrow then?'

'No, Aunt Minerva and I agreed that I'd be getting the express up. If I'm not seen on the train but suddenly appear here, we think a few questions may surface from some of the students; I don't mind the teachers knowing so much, but if the other students find out…' She shook her head slightly and took another sip of tea.

At that precise moment there was a knock on the door and Fang began to bark loudly and excitedly. Penny hopped off her chair to answer it for Hagrid, to find her great aunt standing on the threshold.

'Penny I've been looking all over for you.' She said sternly; clearly her teacher demeanour had returned now she was back at school.

'Tha' was my fault Professor. Young Penny 'ere was jus' filling me in on 'er summer.' Hagrid replied as he clapped a hand on Penny's shoulder, nearly making her collapse from his weight.

'Very well Hagrid. I needed to ask a wee favour of you anyway.' Minerva said as she entered the cabin and took a seat in one of the armchairs.

'I needed to ask if you would be willing to escort Penny to the train tomorrow Hagrid? I would do it myself but if the other students were to see me there with her, well it kind of defeats the point of the exercise.' She said tartly.

'O' course Professor; it'd be my pleasure.' Hagrid replied with a grin, beaming at Penny who grinned back at him.

Both Minerva and Penny stayed with Hagrid for a further hour until Minerva realised how much work she still had to complete. They said goodbye to Hagrid, who turned his attentions back to the serpdeloin, with Fang gambling around the paddock near the Forbidden Forest.

Minerva led Penny back up to the castle, where she enlisted Penny's help in tidying the transfiguration classroom and sorting out all of the books for the students. Penny was pleased to discover that the first class she had on Tuesday morning was to be transfiguration, followed straight after by the Gryffindor personal studies class. Sometimes this class would involve the whole of Gryffindor and at others it would just involve her year.

They continued well into the evening before Minerva agreed to call it a day. Exhausted and hungry they went back to Minerva's study where they ate a small meal and then got ready for bed. As Dumbledore had done the night they returned from St Mungo's, another bed had been placed inside the hidden bedroom chamber in Minerva's study for Penny to sleep in until all of the students returned.

The bedroom was hidden through a secret doorway in the wall, which could only be accessed by tapping the correct stone brick with your index, then middle and then ring finger on your right hand in sequence against it. It was a very plain room, with a four poster bed, like the ones found in the student dormitories, a chest of drawers and a wardrobe. Much like her study though there were photographs of her family dotted around in silver frames.

'Right I want you to go straight to sleep Penny. I'll come in shortly, there are just one or two more things I want to do before I come to bed.' Minerva instructed as Penny climbed in under the covers.

Within seconds Penny was asleep. She'd felt exhausted and ready for sleep as soon as her head had hit the pillow and was pretty glad she felt rested and wide awake when Minerva woke her early next morning.

Hagrid had arrived to take her, by floo powder, to the Leaky Cauldron in London, where they'd then walk the half mile to King's Cross station and Penny would catch the Hogwarts Express from platform nine and three quarters.

Penny was looking forward to the train journey as she loved trains. She found there to be something therapeutic about the motion and often fell asleep on train journeys. Not that Tonks would allow her any sleep once they had caught up with each other.

'Are yeh ready then Penny?' He asked her gruffly as he let out a loud and shaky yawn.

'Yup sure am Hagrid.' She replied sounding much more awake and bubbly than he felt.

They said goodbye to Minerva, who watched them disappear into the fireplace together and vanish in the green flames, finally leaving her alone to her work and thoughts.

The journey to King's Cross proved uneventful, unless you counted the odd stares and comments Hagrid met with once they were walking through the streets, which she guessed was to be expected for someone over eleven foot tall.

Once at the train station Penny met with Tonks and her family, who agreed to see her onto the train. They all bid fair well to Hagrid, who walked off in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron once more, for, Penny suspected, a couple of tankards of mead before returning to Hogwarts.

Tonks and Penny boarded the train, which was billowing smoke on to the platform, and found themselves an empty compartment. As the Hogwarts express moved out of the station, they both waved to Tonks' parents until they had disappeared from view.

They talked animatedly about what had happened over the few days they had been apart and then Penny filled her in on Paton.

'Who he sounds like a right creep.' Tonks said as she tucked into a pumpkin pasty from the food trolley that had just passed by.

'He really is; I dread to think what his classes are going to be like. Aunt Minerva tried to persuade Grams to come and teach a few times, but she always refused. She said she'd miss the excitement of being an auror too much. I guess if she had, though, she'd still be alive now.' Penny explained with a smile at first, which then slipped into a saddened scowl.

The two girls remained silent for a while as they stared out of the window as the busy city now gave way to the greener countryside. However, their silence was interrupted by the arrival of Sally-Ann Barton.

'Well look who it is; if it isn't little orphan Annie and her sidekick.' She said maliciously, much to the pleasure of her friends Debbie Symkiss and Helen Roarquinn.

'Go away Barton!' Penny shouted as she leapt to her feet.

'Aw is ickle Penny all upset? Does she need to be taken to the hospital wing for a good cry?' Barton replied mockingly.

Before she knew Penny had stormed up to her and thrust her curled fist into Barton's face, breaking her nose and knocking her flying into the other two, who were no longer laughing. The three of them gathered themselves up and ran off back up the train.

'Wow Penny! Where'd you learn to punch like that? That was amazing!' Tonks said in awe.

'Grams taught me. She always thought I should learn to fight physically as well as magically.' She explained with a small smile, which disappeared instantly when she saw Sally-Ann reappear with her older sister, Laura, who was now also a prefect to boot.

'How dare you attack a fellow pupil Johnston!' She spat angrily as she entered the compartment. 'You've just earned yourself a week's worth of detentions and I'll be informing Professor McGonagall of this.' She said, clearly enjoying her new found power.

'Well you just do that! And the lot of you can all bog off and leave me alone, or there'll be plenty more where that came from!' Penny shouted back and slammed the compartment door in their faces and pulled down the blinds.

The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful after that. Penny and Tonks played exploding snap for a while and traded chocolate frog cards until they caught the first glimpses of the castle. They quickly changed into their robes and collected their things together, making sure they hadn't left anything behind.

Over their heads they heard Hagrid's familiar voice shout out "Firs' years this way, firs' years" as a hundred or so frightened looking new students walked forward. The rest of the school all made their way to the horseless carriages that would lead them through Hogsmead and into the castle grounds.

Penny and Tonks took a carriage with Olivia Black, Ewan McRae and Jessica Knight; two fellow Gryffindor and Hufflepuff second year students.

'So we heard you were responsible for giving Barton a bloody nose on the train; nice one Penny! What I wouldn't have given to have seen that.' Ewan said with a smile.

'Thanks. Although it's not something I should be proud of really, I dread to think what Professor McGonagall is going to say when she finds out.' Penny replied with the smallest of giggles.

She knew she was going to have to explain herself to her aunt sooner or later, she only hoped her detention wasn't too bad, but was glad Minerva would be the one to decide her punishment, seeing as she was head of Gryffindor house.

The five of them chatted happily about their holidays until they reached the great hall for the start of term feast, where they then parted company to their separate house tables. All of the teachers were sat at the large table at the top of the hall, except for a chair next to Professor Dumbledore and another further up the table. Penny guessed that the empty seat were for Hagrid, who was now leading the new first years across the black lake, and for Minerva, who would be waiting in the entrance hall for their arrival.

'I hope the sorting is over soon, I'm absolutely starving!' Olivia said as her stomach gave a loud gurgle.

'Me too.' Penny agreed. 'I haven't really eaten anything this morning; I didn't want to spoil my appetite for tonight.' She added with a giggle and then everyone fell silent once the doors swung open.

She saw her Aunt Minerva walking up the centre of the house tables followed, somewhat reluctantly, by the first years, who all looked absolutely terrified. Penny remembered being there last year; feeling scared about what was to come and feeling worse about being watched by a thousand other people.

Minerva made her way to the front of the hall to where the sorting hat sat on its three legged stool.

'Now when I call your name I want you to come forward, place the hat on your head and the hat will call out which house you are in. You are then to make your way to your house table.' She advised as she then unrolled the long parchment in her hand and called the first name.

Each house table would clap loudly as another student was added to their midst until, finally, all students had been appropriately sorted. There was a babble of excitement around the room as they all welcomed each other, until Dumbledore stood up. The whole school went very quiet as their headmaster spoke to them.

'Welcome to our new students and welcome back to our old hands.' He said enthusiastically with his arms outstretched in greeting. 'At the end of our feast I will make a few announcements, but for now, tuck in!' He added and at once the tables filled with food.

Penny filled her plate with potatoes and vegetables and anything else within her reach. She chatted happily with Olivia and Jessica, who were sat either side of her, and to Ewan and his younger brother Michael, who had just entered first year.

She received condolences from some of the other students, some had met her grandmother through their parents, some students' parents had worked with her, whereas others just wanted to say they were sorry. The whole of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw seemed supportive; Slytherin, on the other hand, did not.

Clearly her "un-provoked" and "uncalled for" attack on Barton had spread through the whole of her house and they were now all staring daggers at Penny and whispering about her, although they clearly weren't bothered if she heard them.

'Just ignore them Penny.' Olivia said.

'Don't rise to their bate.' Tonks added from the seat behind Penny.

Much to her annoyance she did as they advised and didn't doing anything, although it took all of her self-control not to do anything.

Finally, as everyone finished their pudding and the noise increased considerably, Dumbledore stood up and an instant hush fell around the room.

'Before you all go off to your dormitories, may I remind you that magic is forbidden in the corridors at all times; the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden to all students and quidditch trials for the house teams are to take place a week on Tuesday.

'Now, I'd like to introduce our new defence against the dark arts teacher, Professor Issachar Paton. I'm sure you'll join me in wishing the professor good luck in his new post.' Dumbledore said as he clapped; something the students did half-heartedly.

All eyes turned to face the new teacher, who looked just as creepy as he had the previous day when Penny had first seen him.

'You may all go to your dormitories now and get ready for your lessons tomorrow.' Dumbledore said as he dismissed the school, who instantly erupted into talk as they made their way out of the great hall.

Penny said good night to Tonks, who disappeared to her common room and dormitory with the other Hufflepuffs, as she followed the Gryffindors up to their common room. Everyone was too tired to stay up late that night.

They all made their way to their four poster beds, where their belongings were already sat waiting for them. Penny felt glad to be back to normal, in her bed at Hogwarts, surrounded by her friends with a fresh year ahead of her.


	8. Chapter 8

'Penelope what do you mean by getting a detention before you've even started back at school?!' Minerva barked at her great niece after receiving notification from Professor Snape, presumably on behalf of Sally-Ann and Laura Barton, about the incident on the train.

Penny stood in her great aunt's study the morning after their arrival and knew she was in big trouble, especially when Minerva called her "Penelope"; she was only ever called by her full first name when she was in trouble.

'Well I wouldn't have hit her if she hadn't been making fun of me just because I don't have parents and because Grams had died! Professor.' She replied angrily adding "professor" as an afterthought when she caught Minerva's look of warning.

'Be that as it may, you should have got a Gryffindor prefect or waited until you returned to the school and reported it to me; instead you chose to take things into your own hands and assaulted another pupil!' Minerva said before taking a deep breath and continuing. 'You know that I won't accept that kind of behaviour.' She said a little calmer than before and softened her tone further when she saw Penny hang her head and stare at the ground.

'As much as I will not tolerate one pupil assaulting another, I will also not tolerate bullying. I will be having words with Miss Barton with regards to her behaviour Penny. In the meantime keep your nose clean. I don't expect to hear of any further incidences of you picking fights with anyone else. Do you understand?'

'Yes Professor.' Penny replied quietly, not meeting her aunt's gaze.

'Very well, you may go.' Minerva said as she watched Penny leave her study.

She wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do about Sally-Ann Barton and her sister, as they both seemed intent on wreaking havoc on Penny's life, amongst others. However, she was determined to nip any bullying in the bud this year, as she didn't want Penny getting into any more trouble and she knew that Penny also had more important things on her mind.

As the bell rang for the start of the school day, Minerva collected her things and made her way down to the classroom. The second year class of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were waiting outside for her, happily chatting to each other.

'Right in you go.' She said sharply as she opened her classroom door for them all.

Very noisily the students sat down at their desks as Minerva made her way to her own desk at the front of the class. She turned and faced them all, staring in a way that commanded their upmost attention and the class fell silent immediately.

She read the class register and made sure everyone was present before she began her lesson.

'Now that you're all back at school I expect you all to give my class your full attention and to work extremely hard. Miss Johnston if you could go round and collect the homework.' She said as she gave her instruction to Penny. 'Anyone who hasn't done their homework will receive detention.' She added, although she was pleased to see that no one had failed to do as instructed on this occasion.

'Right today you will be turning beetles into buttons as a gentle introduction into your second year; however, please note that lessons after this won't be so easy. Your second year will require more concentration and a lot more work than your first year.

'Miss Tonks if you could hand out one beetle to each student please.'

Tonks did as she was asked and took the box of large black beetles from Minerva and handed one to each student.

'Now the incantation is scarabaeus ipsum, which needs to be said at the precise moment you tap the beetle; like so.' Minerva explained as she proceeded to turn her beetle into a beautiful shiny black coat button.

She then watched as the class proceeded to mutter the incantation and try to transfigure their beetles, which was a difficult task, as the beetles kept trying to escape. She had to work hard to suppress a laugh when she watched Penny chase her beetle across the floor, although she could also see that Penny was trying desperately hard not to make any sudden movements that might freeze the room as she had done once before.

'Miss Johnston, you need to do it like this.' She said softly as she went up to Penny to help her.

She took Penny's wand hand and guided her wand over the beetle, pinning it gently down with the tip and then getting Penny to say the incantation.

'Scarabaeus ipsum!' Penny said and watched as her black beetle became a black button, but it still had legs.

'Well it's a start.' Minerva said as she then walked off to look at another student's work.

By the end of the lesson Penny had successfully transfigured five beetles into buttons, earning Gryffindor ten points. Some of the other students had also managed a button or two, but like Penny's first attempt they still had bug like qualities.

As the bell rang to indicate the end of the lesson and the start of the next, Penny waved goodbye to Tonks, who was now off to potions, and waited for the rest of Gryffindor house to join her for their study period. Although it did seem a little odd to them that they had a study period when they had only just had their first lesson.

Even though they had no set work to complete, Minerva still didn't allow them to rest on their laurels. She instructed them to all take out a text book from any one of their classes and begin studying it.

'Miss Johnston could you come up here please?' She said as she called Penny to the front once the others were busy reading.

'Right I have decided what your punishment should be for yesterday's performance. You will be doing your detentions with Mr Filch; however, I have decided to only give you two days detention as opposed to the week's worth given by Miss Barton. You've to go to Mr Filch at five o'clock this evening and tomorrow evening. Is that clear?' Minerva said quietly but sternly.

'Yes Professor.' Penny replied before returning to her seat.

The rest of the study period passed quickly without incident. Minerva took the time to do some marking whilst the students read quietly, before leaving for their first break when the bell rang. Penny joined Tonks outside, who was also joined by two of her Hufflepuff friends Andrew and Katie, as Olivia and Jessica joined them as well.

They all swapped notes about their classes and Olivia and Katie filled them in on their first lesson with Paton.

'It was…well…interesting, I guess.' Olivia said, flicking her long red hair out of her face.

'I don't know, I think he's creepy.' Katie said.

Penny told them about her experience with him a couple of days previous and agreed with Katie that he was creepy, if anything, he was beyond creepy. However, they couldn't discuss it any further as the bell rang and they made their way together to herbology.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, with them repotting mandrakes in herbology and concocting a sleeping draft in potions. They received homework in charms and history of magic. By the end of the day Penny was ready for curling up in a corner of the Gryffindor common room and falling asleep, but as soon as that thought had entered her head, it soon had to exit since she still had to do her detention.

With a groan she headed towards Filch's office, dragging her feet and taking as long as she could to get there. Eventually though she did arrive at his door, although not before having a run in with Peeves, who attempted to drop a load of ink bottles on to her head. She knocked and waited for Filch's gruff voice to allow her entry.

'You'll be cleaning the dungeons today, just the corridor mind; Professor Snape doesn't trust anyone but me to clean the rooms.' Filch said with an aggressive scowl and with a slight air of self-importance as he puffed out his chest.

He led Penny down to the dungeons and handed her a bucket and mop and then she realised why. Several students appeared to have dropped a load of dungbombs on the floor and Peeves had then, thrown some more ink bottles, smashing them up the walls and over the floors. Someone had then also dropped some vials of potion, although Penny thought it may have been Snape trying to make her job harder.

With a deep sigh she began to mop the floor, which required a lot of pressure and scrubbing just to get a tiny amount clean, as Filch marched off in the opposite direction. Although cleaning the mess was hard work, she found there to be something quite therapeutic about it as well.

She had been cleaning for almost an hour when the already cold dungeons suddenly became ice cold, almost as if someone had doused the area in ice. For a moment she thought a dementor had entered the castle, but then she remembered all of the protection Hogwarts had and decided that was silly; but then she heard that strange swooshing sound she had heard the other day and she knew she wasn't alone.

She looked around for the source of the strange sound but could see nothing except the cold corridor around her; the cold was intense and she could barely feel her fingers until, just as suddenly as it had arrived, the ice cold lifted.

Just as she was beginning to push the experience from her mind she saw the shadow once more and instinctively followed it, feeling courageous as she almost ran down the corridor.

Faster and faster she ran, trying to keep up with the shadowy figure as it swept this way and that about twenty feet ahead of her, until she suddenly came to a very unfamiliar part of the castle. Very dark and cold she seemed to enter another room, but she couldn't tell as there were no candles lit or torches in the brackets. It was pitch black and she felt that biting cold begin to creep upon her once more.

'Lumos!' She whispered as she took her wand out from her robes and shone the slither of light around her.

The darkness was so oppressive that the light didn't make much difference; she could still barely see a foot in front of her. She wasn't sure what it was that made her do it, but she continued to edge forward into the room; that was until she saw two, bright red glowing eyes just a few meters from where she was stood.

Most people would have turned and run; however, Penny stood her ground, even when the figure in front of her lunged at her. She raised her arm before her, her fingers outstretched and as the figure lurched toward her she repelled it. The figure flew backwards, loudly crashing into something.

It seemed to be stunned for a few moments before gathering its senses and staggering up once more. However, this time, he caught her off guard when he disappeared for a few seconds, reappearing behind her and grabbing her.

She felt two strong, solid arms enclose around her, but she quickly remembered her grandmother's teachings about what to do if she was ever attacked. She stamped her foot hard on her attacker's foot and kicked him hard in the shin before ducking out of his grip. Once again though he was quick to regain his composure.

She felt his fist slam into the side of her face, colliding with her cheekbone and knocking her to the ground. For a few seconds she felt dazed, but she knew she had to shake the feeling quickly, otherwise whatever was attacking her was going to get her for good.

When she saw the demonic red eyes appear over her once more, she raised her hands once more in front of her and tried to remember how she'd done it in class. She flicked her hands and flexed her fingers, but initially nothing happened; the figure continued toward her. Obviously she was going to need more power behind it.

Please, please work! She thought as she tried again, flicking her hands upward and flexing her fingers, just as her attacker drew closer to her. She closed her eyes, expecting to be grabbed once more, but it didn't happen. When she opened them again, the glowing red eyes were a foot from hers, but frozen in mid-air. She had done it.

She scrambled to her feet and ran from the room, scooping her wand from the floor as she went. She continued running along the corridor, passed her abandoned mop and bucket, up the stairs from the dungeon and into the main hall. From there she used a concealed entrance to take her to the floor below Gryffindor tower, but she didn't return to the common room, instead she turned right and went straight to Minerva's office, where she nearly banged the door down to get to her.

'Penny, what are you…' She began to say as Penny almost knocked her over in her haste to get inside, but she stopped when she saw the state Penny was in.

Penny hadn't stopped to look, but her clothes were ripped, dirty and covered in blood, her face was very bruised and her lip was bleeding, as were her hands from where she'd grazed them on the floor. She was out of breath and exhausted from running, she hadn't even slowed down once after escaping, not even to glance back.

She explained everything to Minerva, who was trying to clean her cuts, about the shadow, the sound she heard and the attack. Considering what had just happened she seemed quite calm, but Minerva, on the other hand, wasn't quite as calm. She felt panicked at the thought of something going after Penny, that something was trying to harm her.

'I'm going to summon Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey; I think they both need to be here.' She said as she produced two patronuses, in the shape of cats, and sent them off to each recipient.

She continued to dab at Penny's bleeding lip when the knock came to the door, which she quickly opened and ushered her two friends inside.

Madam Pomfrey gasped when she saw Penny's face, as bruising was now forming on her cheek and around her eye. Penny was now clearly exhausted after the attack and because it was now nearly midnight. However, Dumbledore wanted to know exactly what had happened. So once again she had to go into detail about what she heard and saw, about the attack itself, in detail, and about how she'd managed to control her powers to repel him.

Once she had finished retelling the story, everyone fell silent. Madam Pomfry had bandaged Penny's now swollen ankle, which she must have sprained when she'd fallen over, but had not noticed whilst she was running; and her cuts on her face and hands were now clean.

'I want her to stay in the hospital wing tonight Albus. She could be suffering from shock and may have a mild concussion.' Poppy said as she turned to her colleagues.

'I don't know if that's a good idea Poppy. I think she should stay here with me until we can find out what attacked her.' Minerva replied with deep concern in her voice.

'I can appreciate that Minerva, but I can care for her better upstairs.'

'Penny how would you feel about staying overnight in the hospital wing if your aunt, Madam Pomfrey and myself watched over you?' Dumbledore asked.

Penny was too tired to argue and nodded her head, although she felt a little guilty that she would be disrupting their night's sleep, she was glad to have their protection. They guided her out of the room and up to the hospital wing, where she undressed behind the curtain and climbed into bed.

Like she had done the night after her grandmother's death, she drank the purple calming solution and drifted off to sleep.

Minerva watched over her for most of the night until she herself drifted off in the early hours of the morning, when Dumbledore came to take over after conducting a search of the castle. However, he found no sign of Penny's mystery attacker, there were no signs of a break in and the castle, as a whole, seemed perfectly undisturbed.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day everyone in the school had somehow found out about Penny's attack. Of course the details were rather sketchy, as no one knew exactly what had happened, but there was talk that it was the monster from the Chamber of Secrets, someone else suggested that it was a malevolent ghost and others believed it to have been someone in Slytherin. Yes the rumours were flying stronger than a nimbus on the quidditch field.

Penny felt a lot better than she had done the previous night once she was fully rested and the potions Madam Pomfrey had given her had taken affect. Dumbledore had kept his word and had watched over Penny throughout the night, whilst Minerva had slept in the bed beside her; but nothing further happened and they were all able to sleep undisturbed.

Although she was well rested Penny was still quite sore. The bruising on her face was becoming much more prominent and she discovered her ribs were bruised now too. However, she still wanted to go to her classes.

'I don't know if that's a good idea Penny.' Minerva said with great concern. 'I'm sure you should be resting. I'm certain Madam Pomfrey will agree with me when she returns.' She added sternly.

Penny opened her mouth to protest when a blur of mousy brown hair came running towards her, throwing her arms around her friend.

'Ow Dora, watch the ribs!' Penny said with a small giggle as she hugged her friend back, who was also closely followed by Katie, Olivia and Jessica.

'We just heard about your attack!' Tonks said as she immediately let go of Penny as if she was hot coals, afraid of hurting her. 'What happened?'

But before Penny could explain to them exactly what had happened, Madam Pomfrey came storming in.

'Miss Johnston get back into bed, I want you to rest!' She exclaimed, sounding particularly harassed, especially since it was only the second day of term.

Minerva raised her eyebrows and looked at Penny with an I-told-you-so look before helping her get back into bed.

'Madam Pomfrey can I go to class today please? I don't want to be stuck in bed all day.' She pleaded as Madam Pomfrey began to scoop a thick brown liquid onto a spoon, which didn't look particularly appetising to Penny.

'Certainly not! You had quite an ordeal last night and you need to rest.' She replied, putting a particular emphasis on the last word as she forced the spoon into Penny's mouth, preventing Penny from speaking further.

'Right come along you four, as Madam Pomfrey says, Miss Johnston needs to rest.' Minerva said quietly as she ushered the other four girls out of the room.

'Bye Penny.' Tonks, Olivia, Katie and Jessica said in unison as they left the hospital wing and headed down to their first class.

'I'll come and check on you later on Penny.' Minerva said as she then also exited.

Before long Penny was bored sitting on her own with nothing to do. She kept trying to find things to do to entertain herself. First she counted the panes of glass in the windows and then how many tiles there were on the floor, before realising how bored she really must be if that's what she'd resorted to. She then began wishing she had a book or something to read and as soon as that thought had struck her she heard a rattle from the case near the door to the hospital wing.

As she looked at it she saw the door spring open and one of the books was trying to wiggle free from its place on the shelf. Realising it was her making it happen, she tried to control her power as she had done the previous night. She squinted her eyes in concentration and raised her right hand, aiming it at the book. At first nothing really happened, except that the book felt to vibrate further until it eventually wiggled free. It fell to the floor and Penny had to concentrate once more. Eventually she managed to lift the book into the air and watched it as it slowly flew towards her before landing on the bed.

She smiled as she leant forward to retrieve it and jumped a little as she heard someone begin to clap. She'd been so busy concentrating on the book that she hadn't realised that Dumbledore had been standing in the doorway watching her.

'Congratulations, it would seem that you're getting the hang of that power.' He said with a smile as he walked towards her bed, drawing a chair for himself with a flick of his wand.

Penny blushed a little at his words, not entirely sure whether she was going to be told off or not; but almost as if Dumbledore had read her mind, he smiled more broadly at her.

'It's good for you to practice.' He said and she relaxed more readily.

'Well it feels to be getting easier Professor. I mean, I was able to repel, through choice, whoever attacked me last night, but I wasn't able to control where he went easily. However, today I managed to control where this book went.' She said as she held up the book with a smile, feeling proud of her achievement.

'Well it stands to reason that that would be the case Penny. You see your powers are still growing, which means you will be getting more control over them, but that also means that the size of what you can control will grow along with your powers. Therefore, last night you were able to control your power, but not quite the object, whereas today you aimed for a much smaller object and could control it well.' He explained wisely and was glad to see that Penny understood this. He was also glad to see that she no longer seemed to fear her powers, but was now aiming to embrace them.

'Professor, what was it that attacked me last night?'

'Unfortunately, by the time I got to the corridor in the dungeons, whatever or whoever it was had long since gone. Therefore, I am still uncertain at this time. However, Penny, don't for one second think I'm not looking into it; I will continue to investigate until I can come up with a definite answer, but for now I do not know.' He said.

'It's going to come back though, isn't it?'

'I think that is one thing that we can guarantee; however, your aunt and I are already putting things in place to keep you safe and other students as well of course.'

'Professor, does the attack have anything to do with me being the Angel of Adustum?' Penny asked after being silent for a few moments. It had been a thought that had occurred to her almost immediately after the attack, but one she hadn't felt ready to voice until then.

'Yes I believe it does.' Dumbledore replied honestly. 'You see Penny, by most in our world, the Angel of Adustum is thought to be a myth, an urban legend; however, not all evil believes this to be the case and fears you above most others because of what you stand for.

'Whilst your grandmother was alive you were protected by an ancient kind of magic from all of the evil lurking in our world, but since her death, regrettably, that protection has been lifted.' He continued, choosing his words carefully.

But there was no need to choose carefully anymore, as Penny seemed ready to deal with more than she'd ever had to deal with before. Something was changing in her that made facing up to her destiny much more possible. She now had a determination to embrace everything that was happening to her, rather than to try and fight it.

'What's so important about me Professor that makes evil fear me? Surly evil doesn't fear anything?' She asked.

'Oh on the contrary; you see fear is one of the things that drives evil and what makes them fear you is that you are everything they aren't. As you grow you are going to have more power than you can imagine. Being able to freeze things or move objects with your mind, these are just a mere fraction of the powers you possess. But unlike evil beings, who covet that power, you have a good heart and a power of strength, so will only ever choose to use your powers for good.' He explained with a smile.

'But how do you know I'm good? What if I become evil?' She said with a pang of fear.

'Well the answer to that is simple. When you first became aware of your powers, when you first started doing "odd" things, you were afraid of them. Instead of embracing them at first you tried to ignore them and tried not to use them. Now someone of ill intentions wouldn't have done that.'

Penny smiled at Dumbledore's words, relieved that she wasn't going to become evil. However, she now wanted to learn how to hone her skills and control her powers more readily.

'Professor, will you help teach me about my powers? I mean, about how to control them.' She asked, a little more timidly than she'd intended.

'I think, with what's happening in the castle, that that is an excellent idea. I also want you to make me a promise Penny.'

'Of course Professor.'

'I want you to promise that when you learn to control your powers that you will not use them against another student.' Dumbledore replied sternly, not that he needed to really and he did realise that. Penny was never going to use her powers incorrectly.

'I promise Sir.' She said with an encouraging smile.

'Jolly good. Well I'd better leave and let you get some more rest. I can feel Madam Pomfrey's eyes boring into the back of my head.' He replied with a smile and sure enough, when Penny glanced round she could see Madam Pomfrey staring at them both.

For the rest of the day Penny sat quietly ready the book she'd chosen – Wood nymphs and Porcupines: A wonderful tale of adventure and woe – and was occasionally visited by Minerva in between classes. Once over Tonks and Olivia managed to sneak in for fifteen minutes, before Madam Pomfrey caught them and chased them out.

Occasionally Penny would drift off into a restless sleep, dreaming of red eyes and strange shadows tormenting her, before waking with a start and with Madam Pomfrey beside her with yet another dose of potion.

Eventually the school day ended and at last Minerva was able to join her properly, much to Penny's delight and relief from the boredom. She told her great aunt about what Dumbledore had said to her and about how he had said that he was going to help teach her about her powers.

Minerva agreed that this was a great plan of action. She didn't want to admit it to Penny, but she was fearful about what their future held now that Penny's grandmother's protection had been lifted. The more Penny could control her powers the better protected they would be.

Although she was delighted to see her Aunt Minerva, she wasn't delighted to receive a mountain of homework that Minerva had collected for her and she insisted that Penny make a start on it there and then. She did, however, help Penny with it, first tackling the foot long assignment Snape had issued regarding the bezoar, then they started practising the skurge charm for Professor Flitwick and then finally they worked on her transfiguration homework. Penny noted that Minerva was more lenient with her on this, more so than she expected at any rate. She was used to her aunt being somewhat of a perfectionist, but on this occasion she allowed Penny to stop after being almost able to do the spell she had taught in class that day.

Finally, on Friday morning, Madam Pomfrey allowed Penny to be discharged, but Minerva saw no point in her going to her classes for just one day. She allowed Penny a final day of rest on the condition that she didn't leave the common room. She had also exempt Penny from her further detention, much to the displeasure of the Barton girls.

An argument had ensued between Snape and Minerva as a result of this decision after the Bartons went to him. He had argued that it was favouritism, both Minerva and Penny knew that that accusation was going to raise its head one day, but Minerva had stood her ground and had defended her niece fiercely.

'Penny is in my house Severus and therefore it is my decision what punishment I give!' She shouted at him. 'I think after all that she's been through that that should serve as punishment enough. And with regards to the Barton girls if I hear of one more incident of bullying by them, I will do everything in my power to have them removed from this school!' She spat angrily.

Snape swept out of her classroom in anger and she was certain that it wouldn't be the last she heard of it. However, it'd certainly be some time before he would dare broach the subject again; whilst he knew Minerva had no authority over his students as a fellow head of house, she certainly had more power than him as the deputy headmistress and her influence with Dumbledore was strong.

So this change in events now meant that Penny was free to do with her evenings as she pleased, although Minerva implored her to be careful when wandering the castle. In fact, she even tried to persuade Penny that it wasn't a good idea to go wandering the castle at all. That was until Penny reasoned with her; she couldn't keep her locked up for ever.

So now Penny found herself sat in the Gryffindor common room, alone and bored once more by the fire. It was a lovely sunny autumn day outside. There was a light breeze blowing and the Black Lake was shimmering in the sunlight, with the giant squid occasionally raising a tentacle or popping its head up to the surface.

She was at a complete loss as to what to do with herself. She still couldn't get the images of her attacker out of her head and, as yet, Dumbledore hadn't come up with an identity as to who it had been. Penny's mind began to wander up to the library and to the many books that were there. She was certain that there must be a book up there that could explain to her what was going on; but her Aunt Minerva had instructed her to stay in the common room, although a few minutes away couldn't hurt, could it?

No, Penny's mind was made up. She was going to go up to the library, just for half an hour or so, and see if she could find some information herself.

She gathered her things, bag, quills and parchment, and left the common room through the portrait hole. The corridors were fairly quiet, with the distant sound of teachers talking to their students, Peeves cackling somewhere down one of the corridors and what sounded like Filch shouting at him. Penny headed in the other direction when she heard this. The last thing she needed was to get on the wrong side of Filch.

He, like Snape, thought Penny should continue with her detentions and do extra since she abandoned her post the first time and failed to even complete her detention that night. So he would certainly do anything to get her into further trouble.

Once in the library Penny felt comfort in the sanctuary of the books. Surrounded by thousands of books on all sorts of subjects, containing all sorts of spells and incantations and information on the weird and the wonderful in their world.

Taking a seat by the section of books regarding dark creatures and demonic beings, she took out the first book that grabbed her attention and began to read. She had the creature that attacked her clear in her mind as she thumbed through two or three books, finding nothing that even closely resembled her attacker.

Eventually she came across a very large, thick leather bound book, with deep ridges in the cracked surface and its pages were yellowing. The dull red writing on the cover and spine were faded, but Penny could still see enough to indicate that the book was titled Demons of the Underworld.

She carefully turned each page, reading about all the different evils of their world; fire demons, warlocks and other demonic beasts, of which the drawings looked most nasty. It wasn't until she caught the sight of two very red eyes on one of the pages that she stopped flicking through the book, nearly missing the page on shadow demons altogether.

The picture on the right hand page showed a semi-transparent being, shapeless and barely recognisable as a human form, except for the eyes. To see the being without the eyes, one could be forgiven for mistaking the shadow demon as mere smoke or fog; however, the shadow demon was one of the most dangerous demonic beings in the wizarding world.

Penny ran her eyes down the information given on the page opposite the picture. It read:

"Shadow demons are one of the most feared beings in our world, as they are very powerful in the dark arts. They possess the power to hide in the shadows, often stalking their victims for lengthy periods of time before attacking.

Few witches or wizards have survived an attack from a shadow demon once it's decided to attack, as there is no known counter jinx to vanquish this being, although you can repel it with a light charm, but it is believed that this only works in the short term."

Penny read on about the non-corporeal nature of the shadow demons and how they are believed to attack by suffocating their victims. Reading about how the shadow demon kills its victims sent a shiver up Penny's spine and she felt the hairs on the back of neck suddenly stand on end, she felt as if she was being watched.

She quickly turned round, almost as if she expected to see something hovering over her and waiting to strike; but there was nothing there except the bookshelves and she mentally scolded herself for being so jumpy. However, she decided that she might be better placed seeking sanctuary in the Gryffindor common room once more. She closed all of the books and put them neatly back where she'd taken them from, but she carried Demons of the Underworld to Madam Pince, the school librarian, and took the book out.

As she turned out of the library and into the corridor she began to think about what had happened that night. Whilst many of her attacker's qualities matched that of a shadow demon, some of them did not. For one thing the book said that the shadow demon is non-corporeal, whereas her attacker had physically hurt and grabbed her.

As she turned down another corridor, still lost in thought, she felt the same cold feeling as before and the hairs on her neck were on end again. This time she definitely felt as if she was being watched. She looked around again to see if she could see who was stalking her, but once again there was no sign.

She began to walk faster through the corridors and gave a great startled jump when a voice behind her called her name. She felt her heart thumping painfully beneath her rib cage as she turned round to face Professor Dumbledore.

'Shouldn't you be in your common room Penny?' He asked her over the rim of his moon shaped glasses.

'Yes Sir, I was just heading back there now. I just wanted to get a few books from the library.' She explained quietly, still looking around her.

'I see. Were you up there for anything in particular?' He asked with a knowing tone of voice, almost as if he was imploring her to reveal what she had found out.

'Well I wanted to do a little research into what attacked me Sir. Since Tuesday night I haven't been able to get the sight of him out my head and I was hoping to get some answers.'

'And did you find what you were looking for?' He asked.

'Well I think so, sort of any way. I found a chapter about shadow demons Sir, which looks a lot like what attacked me, except for the fact that whatever attacked me became a physical being during my attack, something I don't think shadow demons can do.' She replied.

Dumbledore began walking away from the corridor with Penny by his side; she was looking up at him intently and with many questions clearly burning in her eyes.

'I believe you may be correct in thinking that it was a shadow demon Penny, although, as you say, that suspicion may not be exact since it was able to physically attack you. Therefore, for your safety, your aunt and I have decided that it best you remain in the company of a teacher at all times between classes.' He advised as they reached the gargoyle which hid the passage to his office.

'I also think it wise that you remain in the common room from now on and do not go wandering the castle. I think we have dangerous times ahead of us Penny and I do not wish to put you in any further danger.' He added as they entered the warm room together, which was wiring with the sounds of the silver instruments around the room.

'I believe that there is no time like the present Penny to start your lessons to assist you in controlling your powers. Hopefully we can develop them enough for you to protect yourself and, in time, others too.' He said as he flicked his wand to produce a long table from thin air, on which were placed several items of varying weight and size.

Starting with the smallest item he taught her about where her power came from, making her realise that to make anything happen she had to produce a particular feeling in the pit of her stomach; a feeling not too dissimilar to anger.

He showed her that the best way to get control of an item was to guide her power through her index and middle finger outstretched. With a flick of her hand she was able to guide a small box from the top of the table to the bottom, some six feet in front of her.

As the items got heavier and bigger her power became more difficult to control though. When she tried to telekinetically lift a cauldron with a few stones in the bottom, she raised it an inch from the table surface before it toppled over, spilling the contents on to the floor.

'Not to worry Penny, it'll come in time. You need to keep your hand steadier though.' Dumbledore encouraged, just as his office door burst open and Minerva came hurrying in looking harassed.

'There you are Penny, thank God!' She exclaimed.

Penny had been so busy concentrating on what she was doing that she hadn't realised the time. She and Professor Dumbledore had been working for almost four hours and the school day had finished ages ago.

'I've been looking all over for you Penny, you had me worried sick! What did I tell you about leaving the common room?!' She barked as she held her niece close, much to the surprise of Penny. Minerva wasn't one to often show her emotions in such a way.

'Sorry Aunt Minerva…I was just…'

'It's my fault Minerva.' Dumbledore interrupted Penny's complete loss for words and Minerva turned to her friend. 'I thought it a good idea that Penny start to learn about her powers; however, I didn't intend to keep her this long.'

For a moment Minerva looked at her niece and then at Dumbledore and back again. She still felt mad at Penny for the worry she'd just put her through, her heart was still racing, but she was so relieved to find Penny safe.

'Well, be that as it may Penny you still shouldn't have disobeyed my order. I should really take points from you.' She said sternly, although she didn't really mean it.

Penny glanced at Dumbledore and they both gave each other a small smile, both repressing a giggle. Although there were times Minerva's sternness could be terrifying, there were also the occasions when she could be funny without intending to be.

'Would you like to see what I've been doing Aunt Minerva?' Penny asked after a few minutes silence, once she was certain that she wouldn't be getting shouted at again.

Minerva gave a curt nod and looked expectantly at the table in front of them and was amazed to see Penny lift and move several items from one side of the table to the other. She was even able to lift the cauldron more easily and move it a few inches forward. She was still a little disappointed at not being able to completely move it, but it was a vast improvement.

After a couple more hours of chat and sharing a meal together in the privacy of Dumbledore's office, Minerva led Penny out into the school corridors once more, heading back to the Gryffindor common room.

As Penny had expected, Minerva gave her another lecture about not disobeying orders and ensuring that she remained in the common room when not in classes. Once she ensured Penny was in the safety of the common room she made her way back to her own study.


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of September passed uneventfully and Hogwarts was now into the second week of October. The quidditch team trials had been held and Tonks and Penny were pleased to have been chosen as chasers, although sadly on opposing teams. However, their delight at this was soon short lived when they realised that Sally-Ann Barton had also been chosen for her team.

Since the first Friday of the term Penny hadn't felt the presence of anyone watching her and she was beginning to put the whole incident to the back of her mind. Once again she was at the top of her class for most of her subjects and she was enjoying being back in the full swing of her work. She was still being escorted to and from classes, usually by Minerva, and was regularly being coached in using her powers by Dumbledore in the evenings, but she couldn't have been happier.

She was now getting very good at controlling her powers and was finding it easier to move much larger and heavier objects. She'd now taken to moving Professor Dumbledore's chairs and other items of furniture across the room. She was also now able to freeze things and unfreeze them again with a flick of her hands.

Once again, as they had done the previous year, Minerva and Penny enjoyed spending their evenings together in her study. Penny would often use the time to practice her powers and was happier than Minerva had seen her in a long time. So happy in fact, that Minerva still hadn't had the heart to broach the subject of Penelope's letter.

Each night she would gear herself up for it, remind herself that it was for the best, that Penny had a right to know, but she couldn't bring herself to do it as soon as she'd see Penny's happy face.

However, now that Penny was getting used to her powers and her destiny, she was starting to ask more questions and Minerva knew that the night was going to eventually come where she was going to have to tell Penny more, if not all, of her story.

That night came during the third week in October after they'd shared an evening meal in Minerva's room. It had been a question that Penny had been building up to for some time, but only now did she feel ready to ask it.

'Aunt Minerva, what was my mum like?' She asked tentatively in her seat by the fire, sipping a hot sweet cup of tea.

Minerva took a deep breath and then smiled slightly. She knew that Penny sometimes found her family's silence about her mother difficult. Naturally the child had questions about her mother and where she came from, but everything Jenny related had been difficult to talk about for any of them for some time.

'She was a wonderful person Penny. Kind, loving and very brave; she had wisdom beyond her years but she also had a wicked sense of humour. She was your grandparents' world; like you would have been hers had she lived.' Minerva explained fondly.

Once she'd begun to open up about her niece, Minerva found it easier to talk until, finally, the story came out.

'You're so much like her Penny, her looks, her talent; like you she loved books and enjoyed studying. Whilst here at Hogwarts she was part of many groups and clubs, she was a chaser on the quidditch team and won many awards and prizes. But beyond all of that she hid a certain sadness.

'Do you remember Professor Dumbledore explaining to you about familiar guides for some witches and wizards?' Minerva asked and received a curt nod from Penny, who was hanging on her aunt's every word. 'Well they're still very much in existence and your mother met hers in the form of a black and white cat just a couple of years before leaving school. Naturally she didn't realise who he was at first and it wasn't revealed until she started working at the Ministry.

'His name was Scott Samuels and for the two years leading up to her death they worked well together. He was very protective of her and often helped her in her pursuits of the evil across the world.' Minerva explained as she found her rhythm, but her voice soon became shaky again.

'However, a few months before Jenny died, her working relationship with Scott came under jeopardy. You see Penny, the Ministry of Magic decided some centuries ago that a familiar guide cannot have any romantic affiliation with their charge. If any familiar was found to be romantically involved with their charge they were punished most severely; in some instances they had their abilities as a familiar revoked.'

'Mum had a relationship with her familiar?!' Penny exclaimed as she realised what her great aunt was telling her. 'Then that must mean he's my father!' She added.

'Yes Penny it does.' Minerva replied quietly, feeling sorry and ashamed that this was the first time Penny was ever hearing about her father.

'What happened to him?' Penny asked as she felt tears prickle at her eyes. She'd never really thought much about her father over the years, but now that she was being faced with the truth it made something well up inside her, something she'd never felt before.

'Well after Jenny died he was devastated and disappeared. I only met him a few times whilst he was your mother's guide and I don't think your grandmother saw him again after he left.'

'Well what about me? Didn't he care about me?'

It was a question that pained Minerva more than anything else, the truth was something she was still trying to get her head around and even after all this time, she still didn't know how to answer the young girl's question. The answer was incomprehensible and impossible to explain.

'It wasn't that at all, Penny; I'm not sure you're ready to hear the truth about that yet. It's been more than I can handle, let alone you. I will explain more to you one day, but not tonight. Tonight you need to return to your dormitory.' She replied as she downed the rest of her tea and rose from her chair.

It was now nearing nine o'clock, a lot later than a second year student should be out of bed, but in the company of Minerva, no other teacher would say anything. Minerva led Penny to the portrait of the fat lady and bid her great niece goodnight, before turning on her heel and walking away once she'd watched Penny disappear through the concealed entrance.

She took the long way towards her office, choosing to patrol the corridor for a short while. Occasionally she met a prefect or fellow teacher, but otherwise the corridors were quite empty. That was until she came to a stone corridor with large windows down one side and empty classrooms on the other.

As she got about half way down this corridor she felt an icy blast and thought someone had perhaps left a window open, but on closer inspection all of the windows about her were tightly shut. As she shook the feeling from her mind and began walking farther forward, she heard a sound behind her like a draft of wind. She instinctively reached into her cloak for her wand and drew it, lighting the wand tip to look around.

'Who's there?' She said strongly, unafraid of what was stalking her; for she knew she wasn't alone in the corridor. She remembered what Penny had said about her attack. 'Show yourself!' She barked.

At the precise moment something formed from the shadows around her and engulfed her in a type of smoke. It whipped around her and disorientated her until she fell to the ground, her wand bouncing a couple of feet from her. The smoky figure continued to whip around her and occasionally she could feel something corporeal hitting and scratching at her face. Eventually the smoke evaporated and a fully corporeal figure formed at the end of the corridor and advanced towards her. Dazed and confused she couldn't make out who it was, only the big red eyes Penny had described.

The figure had a wand in its hand and he raised it high above his head. Minerva scrappled for her wand, which was now just centimeters from her grasp, and closed her fingers round it tightly once she'd found the handle.

She sent jets of red light at the figure at the same time he sent jets of green light at her. Their spells clashed in mid-air and sent a shower of sparks dancing round them. Minerva fired more spells at her attacker, who sent as many spells equally back at her. They continued to duel until a spell hit Minerva, almost rendering her unconscious immediately, but before she passed out she saw a whip of black cloak and heard shouts above her, which in her dazed state sounded too muffled for her to understand.

She felt someone's hands touching her arm before everything went dark. She drifted into unconsciousness with no idea of where she was or if she was safe. The person who found her lifted her onto a stretcher and carried her up to the hospital wing.

Professor Dumbledore was alerted immediately and he made his way quickly to the hospital wing. He decided to wait until morning to tell Penny of her aunt's attack. She needed to rest before dealing with the distress of the situation and from what Issachar Paton had told him, Minerva was hurt badly.

Indeed, when he got to her bedside his friend was still unconscious and had many cuts and bruises all over her body. Madam Pomfrey was, once again, working tirelessly to heal the older woman, but was struggling to stem the blood flow coming from of the cuts.

It occurred to Professor Dumbledore that she may have been poisoned like her sister had been and he prayed hard for her to be alright.

In the early hours of the morning Madam Pomfrey had successfully stopped the flow of blood and the effects of the poison didn't seem to be having any instant effect. Professor Dumbledore surmised that Minerva mustn't have received as great a dose as her sister had done.

'Madam Pomfrey I'm going to get our young Miss Johnston now; she'll need to be informed and I think it better it come from me.' He said quietly as he excused himself from the hospital wing.

The kids were all now making their way to their first class and he wanted to catch Penny before she started her first lesson.

He disappeared down into the dungeons towards the potions corridor and saw Penny waiting outside with her fellow classmates. The Gryffindor students were standing on the opposite side to the Slytherins and were clearly arguing about something, but everyone became quiet when they saw their headmaster.

They were all a little startled at first as they had never seen their headmaster in one of their classes before, but their questioning looks were soon interrupted when the door to Snape's dungeon was opened by Snape himself.

'In!' He barked simply at the students and they all began to traipse into the room, some giving Professor Dumbledore furtive looks. As Penny drew nearer though, Dumbledore put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from her class mates.

She heard Sally-Ann Barton whispering in delight at the thought that Penny might be getting into trouble and that it must be serious for Dumbledore to be involved. However, both Penny and Dumbledore ignored this.

'Severus I was wondering if I could borrow Miss Johnston for a short while as I have a few things I need to discuss with her.' He said to Snape softly and didn't seem to notice the sniff of distain Snape gave.

'Certainly Headmaster.' He replied, before sweeping into his room and slamming the door.

'Is everything alright Professor?' Penny asked as she looked up quizzically at him.

'Come with me Penny.' He said as he led her, not toward the hospital wing but to his office.

Once there he made Penny sit in one of the comfy chairs beside his fire. Penny glanced round once sat and expected to see her aunt waiting for them, but when she didn't see her, sudden recognition dawned on her.

'It's Aunt Minerva isn't it Professor?' She asked quietly.

'Yes I'm afraid it is. Now I don't want you getting yourself too upset Penny, as your aunt is in good hands. She is being cared for by Madam Pomfrey; but she was attacked by the shadow demon last night.' Dumbledore explained carefully to her.

He had expected her to cry, but Penny was determined not to. She'd already experienced too much to allow the shadow demon yet more satisfaction at upsetting her and she could tell that Professor Dumbledore was being honest with her.

'Can I see her?' She asked.

'For now I think it best you don't. I want you to return to your classes as that's exactly what your aunt would want. When she comes round she will ask me about you and she will be most displeased if I tell her you weren't in class again.' Dumbledore said and Penny nodded.

She could see from the look he was giving her that it was going to be no use arguing with him; she was going to have to return to class and it was a decision that was not up for discussion.

'Ok Sir.' She replied and raised herself from her chair, just as there was a knock on the door and Professor Sinistra walked into the room, clearly looking to speak with Dumbledore.

'May I be excused Sir?' Penny asked and for a moment Dumbledore hesitated.

He would have preferred her to be escorted back to her potions class, but he could clearly see that Professor Sinistra was desperate to speak to him. So against his better judgement he dismissed Penny and allowed her to exit alone.

'Yes you may be excused Penny.' He said.

Penny instantly disappeared into the school and for a brief moment she considered going to the hospital wing, but a voice in her head, sounding scarily like her aunt's, told her not to. Dumbledore had been right, Minerva wouldn't be pleased if Penny missed any more of her lessons; especially not now Penny was doing so well once more and definitely not on her account.

So, reluctantly, Penny made her way back down towards the dungeons, but she was now much more on edge than she had been before and as she got closer to the potions classroom, she felt the familiar icy cold draft. He gave an impatient sigh, fed up of the shadow demon tormenting her.

'I know it was you who attacked my aunt and I know you're following me. Mark my words, if you continue to pursue me you will not win!' She shouted before walking briskly down the corridor and disappeared into the classroom, seconds before the smoky figure, which had been lingering behind her, lunged for her as it had done before.

When she entered the classroom Snape set her the task of writing about the potion they were attempting to make; he advised, loudly, that there would be no point in her starting the potion now, she'd never catch up. However, he gave her the potion to practice as homework; telling her that he expected a perfect draft the following day.

By the end of the lesson Penny was glad to escape and meet with her friends. She found Tonks in the Great Hall over break, sat desperately writing up their transfiguration homework.

'I can't believe I forgot to do my homework, McGonagall is going to go mad if I don't get this finished on time!' She exclaimed frantically.

'I don't think that's something you need to worry about Dora.' Penny said sadly and she went on to explain what had happened.

'Oh Pen I'm so sorry! Is she going to be alright?' Tonks said with shock.

'I don't know. Dumbledore seems to think she will be, but there was something in his tone…I don't know; but I know one thing, I need to find out who it is that's after me and why. I need to get him before he gets me or anyone else.' Penny said defiantly.

The next couple of days dragged on for Penny and there was still no sign of Minerva regaining consciousness. Penny was beginning to get really anxious, but both Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey reassured her that this was to be expected, however, they were both hiding their own secret concerns for their friend.

As Dumbledore has suspected, Minerva had been poisoned by the same toxin that had killed Penelope. Whilst he believed her attacker intended for her death to be instant, it seemed that he only managed to administer enough to draw her death out. Neither voiced this to Penny though, as they did not want to upset her and they were both determined to come up with the antidote; however, time was quickly running out.

Penny visited her great aunt every day, before school, in between lessons and after school. She spent every waking moment she could with her great aunt and was beginning to notice that her aunt showed signs of getting weaker, not stronger.

She knew that the teachers knew something she didn't and one afternoon she briefly heard a conversation between Snape and Dumbledore.

'Headmaster the crushed bezoar is merely prolonging her symptoms not curing her and I daresay if we don't find a suitable cure soon, she will die.' He said in his usual drawl.

'I quite agree Severus, but I've never come across such poison!' Dumbledore replied in a tone Penny had never heard in him before, fear.

Penny felt a lump form in her throat and tears sprang into her eyes. She was going to lose her aunt as well and then that would be practically everyone she cared about gone. She made the decision that she had to do something, anything, to try and stop it from happening.

She didn't enter the hospital wing that evening, but headed straight to the library. She wasn't certain what she was looking for, but she was looking up every book she could find with information about shadow demons and poisons.

'There you are Penny, I've been looking everywhere for you!' Tonks said as she entered the library and joined her friend.

It was getting late and the library would soon be closing, but Penny was still determined to find something.

'Aunt Minerva's dying Dora, I have to do something!' She explained as tears ran down her face. 'I'm going after this thing and I'm going to end this once and for all.' She added.

'But Penny you can't, we don't know the first thing about this creature or how to defend ourselves against it!' Tonks said as she tried to make her friend see sense.

'Well I know more about it now than I did before. I think he's an Umbra demon, a sort of cross between a shadow demon and a human. He has many human like flaws, which makes him easier to defeat than a normal shadow demon and there's a spell to force him into his human form. See?' Penny explained as she showed Tonks a page in a book, just as Madam Pince began ushering students out.

'OK fine, if you're going to do this then I'm coming too!' Tonks replied in an agitated whisper as Madam Pince got closer.

'No Tonks you can't, it's much too dangerous!'

'I can take care of myself you know. So you're either doing this with me or I go straight to Dumbledore!'

For a moment Tonks and Penny stared at each other and Tonks saw Penny's lips contort into a really thin line, making her look like her great aunt.

'OK you can come, but I must warn you that it's entirely at your own risk.' Penny said as she gathered her things and they ran out of the library.


	11. Chapter 11

Together Tonks and Penny made their way carefully down into the dungeons, hoping they wouldn't be seen. It was getting darker the further down they went until they were finally into the corridor near the room Penny first had been attacked.

They neared the room at the end of the corridor, their breaths catching in their throats and they could feel their hearts beating out of their chests. Penny raised her wand and gave a yelp as something behind her hit her.

'Ouch Dora!' She said as she turned to see Tonks sprawled on the stone floor. 'Are you alright?' She added as she helped her friend to her feet.

'Yeah I'm fine, just tripped.' Tonks muttered as she dusted herself off.

'OK we need to keep our eyes and ears peeled as we'll probably hear him long before we see him.' Penny said as she lit the tip of her wand and Tonks did the same.

They entered the room and felt the piercing icy chill, making them very much aware that they were not alone. As it had happened before, the thin slither of light from their wands barely made a difference as they crept further into the room. Penny realised that they must be right underneath the castle, as it smelt damp and wet, something she hadn't noticed last time.

They stayed closely beside each other and then gasped as they saw two large glowing red eyes a yard in front of them. Penny felt Tonks tense beside her, she'd forgotten that Tonks had never seen the demon; however, this time Penny wasn't afraid.

The red eyes began to advance on them, only this time he was walking slowly towards them instead of lunging. He began to laugh menacingly and high pitched as he flicked his arm above his head and lit the room in a dim, green glow.

The torches in their holders became lit and for the first time Penny could see her attacker. For a second she thought it was Issachar Paton, their defence teacher. He had the same square set jaw and dark grey hair, but his nose was slightly different.

'You've finally come to face me.' He said with a sneer.

'You murdered my grandmother and tried to kill my aunt!' Penny shouted back at him, sounding a little braver than she felt.

'Yes and now that you're here, I'm going to kill you too.' He replied calmly.

'And why do you want to kill me?' She said as she raised her wand a little higher.

'Because my master cannot possibly rise to greatness with you alive. You would only mess with his plans, not to mention the fact that he can't possibly have your powers if you still have them.' He said as he drew, not a wand, but a large sword from inside his cloak.

'It's taken me years to develop a poison powerful enough to destroy you, but now I have one and there's nothing you can do to stop it!' He said as he now lunged toward Penny and Tonks.

After weeks of practice, now was the time for Penny to use all that she had learned with Dumbledore. She flicked her arm and sent the demon crashing into the wall. Tonks watched on as Penny then lifted her attacker up into the air and threw him into the wall a second time.

He was clearly dazed by this as he staggered to his feet. He was still clutching the sword in one hand and he now had his wand in the other. He disappeared into smoke and attempted to whip around the two girls like he had done to Minerva.

'Tonks do you remember the spell?' Penny asked as they stood back to back.

'Yeah. On the count of three?' Tonks replied as she raised her wand.

'One, two…THREE!' Penny shouted and they both shouted the spell together.

'ADUSTUM!' They shouted loudly and two jets of bright white light shot from their wands and swirled round them through the smoke. With a loud scream the demon became corporeal and flew backwards, once again he landed hard against the wall.

Now he was furious and was determined to get Penny. He flicked his wand at Tonks who flew into the air and crashed to the floor metres from where she had been standing. Penny saw that she'd been knocked unconscious but looked reasonably unhurt from where she was standing. He then raised his wand again and did the same to Penny.

She had raised her hand to repel him, but he was too quick for her this time and she felt a couple of her ribs splinter as she crashed to the floor. She began to cough as she felt the wind knocked out of her. She was now lying helplessly on the floor and could see the demon advancing toward her with the sword raised in the air.

She tried to pull herself together to protect herself, but she felt too dazed to manage it. She felt convinced that at any second she would feel the sword pierce through her skin, but the pain did not come.

Just as the demon was inches from her, another smoky shapeless form appeared in front of her.

'Stop Intricus!' He shouted as he stood in front of Penny.

It was Issachar Paton, who had his own wand out and was not afraid to use it against the other man. When Intricus failed to stop, Issachar began to fire spells at him. Before long Issachar had disarmed him of the sword and of his wand, which both now lay on the ground near Intricus' unconscious body.

Issachar bent down to Penny who was wincing in pain.

'Are you alright Miss Johnston?' He asked as he helped Penny to stand.

'Yes…I thi…think so.' She stammered. 'Sir, how did you find us?' She added and then, noticed it too late.

Before Issachar could reply, the sword had been thrust through him. For a moment Issachar looked at Penny before slumping to the ground. Standing behind him was Intricus, looking smug and murderous once more. However, Issachar still had his wand in his hand.

He sent another spell at the other man, who this time burst into flames, screamed out in pain and then was reduced to nothing more than ash.

Both Penny and Tonks, who had now regained consciousness, rushed to their teacher's side. Penny removed her cloak and placed it over his wound and tried to stem the blood, but she could feel it billowing out beneath her fingers.

'There's nothing you can do for me now, but you need to get yourselves back up to the castle.' He struggled to say, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

'You take the sword back up to Professor Dumbledore, but make sure you don't touch it as he laced it with poison.' He added.

'I don't understand Sir.' Penny said quietly.

'He was my brother. I'd suspected for some time that it was him who was after you. Now listen, you don't have much time. There's an antidote to the poison in my office. You need to get it and take it straight to Madam Pomfrey.' He said through gritted teeth against the pain.

'But what about you?' Penny asked. 'Surely I can…'

'No!' Issachar said firmly. 'It's too late for me and if you wait any longer it'll be too late for your aunt!' He added, now really struggling to speak.

Both Penny and Tonks hesitated for a few moments, wondering what to do for the best.

'GO!' Issachar shouted and watched as the two girls limped quickly out of the dungeon.

They both ran as best they could, but they were both injured and this became more of a struggle the further up they went. Before long Penny was clutching her chest, which was now in agony and she felt very out of breath. However, she was determined to get to Paton's office and get the antidote; she needed to do it for her aunt.

They kept running, dodging Peeves on the fourth floor, and eventually made it to his study. They burst through the unlocked door and found the antidote sitting on his desk. Penny grabbed it before they set off at a run once more, but now toward the hospital wing.

'Dora, go and get Professor Dumbledore and tell him what's happened. Get him to come up to the hospital wing and I'll meet you both up there.' Penny instructed as they both separated and headed off in opposite directions.

Penny, now very red in the face and feeling like passing out, raced up into the hospital wing and almost knocked Madam Pomfrey flying when she entered.

'Miss Johnston what is the meaning of this?!' She shouted as she steadied herself.

'I'm sorry Madam Pomfrey, but I was in a hurry. I've got the antidote!' She said as she held the small bottle up for the nurse to see.

Madam Pomfrey's frown soon turned into a look of delight as they rushed to Minerva's bedside. She looked a lot worse than when Penny had seen her last and watched as the first dose of potion was administered.

'It's probably going to take several doses of this before it starts to take effect.' Madam Pomfrey explained quietly, just as Professor Dumbledore arrived.

'Penny are you alright?' He asked with great concern. 'Miss Tonks here has just been explaining to me what happened.'

'I think I'm alright Professor. I've broken a couple of ribs though.' She said as she still clutched her side. 'But getting the antidote to Madam Pomfrey was more important.'

'Well you've done really well Penny and when you're feeling up to it we'll take about it in more detail. But for now you both need to rest.' Dumbledore said as Madam Pomfrey ushered them both towards a bed each.

'Is Aunt Minerva going to be ok?' She asked, trying to fight against Madam Pomfrey who was forcing her to lay down.

'She's very ill Penny and only time will really tell.' Dumbledore replied honestly.

Madam Pomfrey instructed the two girls to go straight to sleep, but they didn't; nor did Dumbledore leave their sides. They all stayed up to watch over Minerva, but they were all still very concerned. She was now showing signs of a fever; much like Penelope had done before she died. But Madam Pomfrey was still administering the antidote every half hour.

Penny kept praying throughout the night and then, in the early hours of the morning, the fever began to recede and she was beginning to get colour back into her pale, clammy skin.

Her own pain was no longer an issue, as Madam Pomfrey had fixed her broken ribs and Tonks had been given something for her bruising.

Over the course of the next few hours Penny opened up to Dumbledore about exactly what had happened in the dungeons. She told him about how she felt guilty for leaving Professor Paton down there to die, but Dumbledore had reassured her that there was nothing she could have done, and that, had she not acted when she did, her aunt may have also died.

By early evening the following day Minerva's condition had vastly improved. Her fever had gone completely, her skin was back to its normal colour and she was becoming more responsive.

'I think we can expect her to regain consciousness soon Albus.' Madam Pomfrey whispered and within an hour of her saying it, Minerva began to stir.

When she came round she was surrounded by Penny, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore. There were flowers and cards next to her bed and the three people around her looked at her most concerned.

At first she felt very confused and disorientated, but as she came round more she remembered the attack and for a brief moment she thought she was still in the corridor, but then she relaxed into the warmth of the bed beneath her as she realised she was in the hospital wing.

'Aunt Minerva you're awake!' Penny exclaimed with delight as she watched her aunt stir.

'What happened?' Minerva croaked and took the glass of water handed to her by Penny.

'You were attacked Minerva, in the corridor of the west wing. Do you remember much about what happened?' Dumbledore asked kindly.

Minerva shook her head slightly, although it pained her to do so. She was bruised and ached all over and found it much harder than Penny to bounce back.

'Well you were found by Issachar Paton, who battled further with your attacker but, regrettably, he was unable to capture him at the time.' Dumbledore explained.

'What do you mean, at the time? Have you caught him since last night?' Minerva asked, not realising that she'd been unconscious for almost a week.

'We'll explain everything later Minerva; but for now, you should rest.' Dumbledore said with a large smile at his friend.

'You gave me quite a scare Aunt Minerva.' Penny said with a watery smile, her eyes teary once more.

Minerva smiled faintly back at her niece and patted her arm comfortingly, it was about as much comfort as she could give as her pain level began to increase. Madam Pomfrey gave her some potion to help with the pain and attempted to usher Professor Dumbledore, Tonks and Penny out of the room to allow Minerva to rest, but Penny was having none of it.

'I want to stay Madam Pomfrey; I promise I won't be any trouble.' She said and was pleased when the nurse, rather reluctantly, agreed.

She waited until she was left completely alone with her great aunt before she spoke; she could no longer control the guilt eating away at her.

'Aunt Minerva I'm so sorry, this is all my fault.' She sobbed.

'And how exactly did you come to that conclusion?' Minerva replied softly, trying her best, under the circumstances, to console her.

'Well, if I wasn't the Angel of Adustum or you weren't related to me, then you wouldn't have been attacked.' Penny said through her sobs, trying to keep her voice down so as not to alert Madam Pomfrey. 'I thought I'd lost you Aunt Minerva.' She added as tears ran down her cheeks.

Minerva raised herself higher in the bed and gritted her teeth against the pain this caused her. She patted the bed beside her and allowed Penny to sit next to her, pulling the young girl close into a one armed hug. It was a little out of character if she was honest with herself, but it was something that felt a lot more natural than she thought. Something was stirring inside her more than just affection for her great niece. Her long dormant maternal instincts were beginning to kick in.

'None of this is your fault Penny; it's who you are and you had no control over that.' She said softly and soothingly.

They sat together like that for a couple of hours as Penny explained to Minerva exactly what had happened the night she was attacked and the previous night's events. Tonks had long since fallen asleep in one of the beds, exhausted mentally and physically after everything that had happened.

Soon both Minerva and Penny had also fallen asleep, still sat next to each other on the bed. Penny had found this a great comfort as it reminded her of her grams. They had done this often when Penny had had a nightmare or was unwell.

The next day dawned and Minerva had almost made a full recovery. She was back to her normal self, although still quite sore. However, Penny was still beating herself up about what had happened and about the danger she felt she'd put Minerva in.

'You need to stop blaming yourself Penny; for the last time it isn't your fault!' Minerva said irritably as Penny panicked about the danger she was putting everyone in.

'I still don't exactly understand how I became the stupid Angel.' Penny replied sullenly, and suddenly Minerva's opportunity had presented itself to tell Penny the truth; although she still wasn't certain now was exactly the right time, but then again, there never was going to be a good time.

Minerva hesitated in answering as she built up the courage to bring herself to say it, but she composed herself with a deep breath and began to explain.

'Your grandmother's letter explains everything, but I don't have it with me; however, it's probably better you hear it from me.' She said and took another deep breath.

'As Professor Dumbledore explained to you that day over the summer, the prophecy that predicted your birth said that a child of light would be born into our world and would go on to become our defender against the dark. However, the prophecy also stated that the child would be one of the most powerful beings in our world because of the circumstances surrounding her birth.' Minerva explained and paused as she took a large gulp of air.

'The prophecy states that the baby would be born posthumously.' She paused again to gage Penny's reaction and she could see that something was beginning to register in Penny's eyes. 'When your mother died, you hadn't even been born yet. In fact none of us even knew your mother was pregnant; I'm not sure she did either.'

'I…I don't understand…' Penny replied quietly, almost barely audible.

'Your grandmother said in her letter that your mother delivered you to her nine months after her death. I'm not sure what the charm was or exactly how it works but, apparently you were charmed so that everyone's memories were modified. Everyone believed that Jenny died a few weeks after you were born. Only your grandmother knew the truth and she became the secret keeper, so that only she could tell you the truth. However, I believe she told Professor Dumbledore soon after and wrote the letter to you in case she died before she could tell you.' Minerva finished and felt a weight lift from her.

It had been an incredibly different secret to keep, but worse to reveal. However, now it was out in the open, she could work with Penny to begin healing.

'So wait a minute; if mum died…am I…does that mean…?' Penny stammered, struggling to comprehend what her aunt had just told her. 'Am I dead too?!' She blurted and Minerva remained silent.

How could you really tell someone that their life had ended even before it had begun? It had been a thought Minerva had struggled with for several months.

Penny slumped back into her chair and pulled away from her great aunt, stunned into silence. Neither of them spoke for several hours; they were both too lost in their thoughts for words.


	12. Chapter 12

Once again the school was buzzing about the mysterious disappearance of Professor Paton, for no-one knew of his death, except Dumbledore, Minerva, Penny and Tonks. The rumours were still also flying round about Minerva, who, by now, hadn't been seen by the students in nearly two weeks.

However, she was recovering well from the poison, which was more than could be said about Penny. She wasn't coping at all well with the news that not only was she the Angel of Adustum, but she'd died nearly thirteen years ago.

Minerva had tried to speak to her about it, but the young girl had just shut down about the situation, and Minerva was worried sick. She had no idea how else to deal with this.

Eventually Madam Pomfrey discharged Minerva from the hospital wing the next day, on the proviso that she have a further week of rest before returning to class. Although she missed teaching, she was glad of the excuse to spend the week with Penny and talk to her properly. She'd agreed with Dumbledore that this was for the best, to take Penny out of class for a week. They both knew that there were already rumours amongst the students about the nature of Penny's relationship with Minerva, but at this moment in time Minerva didn't care what they knew; her main priority now was Penny.

On leaving the hospital wing the first thing Minerva did was to find Penny, however, no one had seen her for a while. She hadn't come up to the hospital wing to see her great aunt, as Minerva had expected her to do.

'Albus, have you seen Penny?' She asked as she returned from the empty Gryffindor common room, with no sign of Penny on her way up to the Headmaster's study.

'No I'm afraid I haven't Minerva.'

Minerva felt her heart leap into her throat when she heard his words. Penny was missing, alone and in a great deal of distress.

'We'll find her Minerva.' Dumbledore replied as he swished out of his study and down his stairs.

They looked all over the castle for her and even went down to Hagrid's hut, but there was no sign. Minerva interrupted Snape's class to speak to Tonks to ask her if she'd seen or spoken with Penny, but with a worried look on her face she'd slowly shaken her head.

No-one had told her what was going on, but she'd noticed a change in her friend's behaviour and this new development concerned her greatly. However, Minerva assured her that everything would be alright and that she wasn't to worry.

With that Minerva returned to the entrance hall where Dumbledore was waiting for her.

'Tonks doesn't know where she's gone Albus, but she's as worried as we are. She thought she was with me when she didn't see her at breakfast this morning.' Minerva said with a shaky voice, and then, to add insult to injury, Peeves came floating into sight, cackling and jeering as usual.

'Oh our potty wee Penny is jolly wee Johnston no more. She ran from the castle, she looked quite a hassle, and wouldn't play, what a bore.' He cackled loudly.

Minerva looked up at him sharply, his words registering with her immediately.

'Peeves where did she go?' She asked urgently, but there was no use in trying to make sense of Peeves, he was never obliging at the best of times.

'Not telling you nothing.' He shouted as he zoomed off.

Minerva glanced at Dumbledore, who rushed out of the big wooden doors with her. When they got outside again they looked around once more, hoping to see her, but there was no sign.

'Oh Penny where are you?' Minerva said under her breath; and then it hit her. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it first.

'I know where she's gone Albus.' She said and led him down towards the Black Lake.

They both made their way down to the shore, towards the fallen tree where Penny was sat with her feet dangling into the cold water. Minerva gave an audible sigh of relief as she rushed over to her and embraced her niece tightly.

Dumbledore stood back from them and smiled when he saw his friend's reaction. He had noticed quite a change in Minerva's persona in recent months; her relationship with her great niece was changing and in turn it was changing her. She was more maternal now than he'd ever seen her.

'Penelope don't you ever do that again!' She said sternly, but she wasn't angry, just incredibly relieved.

'Sorry Aunt Minerva, I didn't realise you were out yet, or looking for me.' Penny replied quietly, her voice muffled slightly further by her aunt's robes.

Minerva sat next to Penny on the tree trunk and looked out on to the lake. It was another glorious day in the late autumn sun. She put her arms around Penny and held her close, afraid to let her go. Neither said anything for a while, they just sat in deep contemplation and were so caught up in their thoughts that neither saw Dumbledore leave. Eventually Penny was the one to break the silence.

'I'm sorry I frightened you Aunt Minerva, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to be alone. I've been thinking a lot about this Angel thing and about being dead, and…well…I still don't know how I feel about it; but I'm glad I've still got you Aunt Minerva.' She said with a tear in her eye.

'I'll always be with you Penny.' Minerva replied quietly and started when she heard a voice behind them.

'And me.' The voice said.

It was a female voice Penny had never heard before and one Minerva hadn't heard in a long time. The young woman standing behind them had been watching them for some time. She had long strawberry blonde hair, bright blue eyes and pale skin. She was wearing long light blue robes, with long flowing sleeves. She was corporeal but had a certain glow about her.

Although Penny had never seen her in person, there was no denying who the new arrival was, for Jenny and Penny were the absolute images of each other.

'Mum?' Penny whispered in complete disbelief.

'That's right Penny.' Jenny replied softly.

'I don't understand Jenny.' Minerva said.

'It's alright Aunt Minerva, you don't have to. Not yet anyway. For now I hope it's just enough that you can both see me. Magic works in very mysterious ways Penny and there's always a reason for everything. I know that recent events have been difficult for you, for both of you, but Penny I'm so proud of you, by beautiful baby girl. What I wouldn't give to be able to be with you properly.' Jenny replied sadly as she moved over beside them and ran her fingers through Penny's hair.

'You mean you're not staying?' Penny replied.

'No sweetheart, I don't belong to this world anymore; but you do. You might not be able to understand the purpose of your death now, you're just a child for heaven's sake, but know this: Although you may have lost your life before you had even entered this world, you have been given a second chance and a great gift. Don't try focusing on something you can't explain or understand now, it'll only consume you, but focus on what you do know.'

Penny looked up at her mother and felt as if her burdens were all being lifted at once, as if, somehow, the words her mother were speaking were taking away all her worries and pain. Although she didn't understand it all, she realised that that was alright, just like Jenny said. Whilst she might have died with her mother, she was there now, learning like everyone else her age, getting into trouble like everyone else her age and surrounded by people who loved her like everyone else her age. In affect she was living the life she was always destined to live and that was all that was important.

'You've got a great life ahead of you Penny, just trust in that and trust that, no matter what, I will always be with you. Look after each other and be safe.' Jenny said as she kissed her daughter's forehead and hugged her aunt closely, before disappearing in a bright white light.

Minerva looked at the spot where her niece had just disappeared and then down at her great niece who was still resting in her arms. They both had tears in their eyes but felt at peace.

The last few months had been an emotional time for them both and certainly not an experience either of them would be quick to relive, but they had each other which had taught them both that so long as they had that, they had everything they'd ever need.

Minerva thought about how she'd felt so alone all those months ago and how pained it had made her for years, but now that she had Penny permanently in her life, she was never going to be alone again.


End file.
